Oral History and Documentary Analysis: Studying the Relationship between Scientific Laboratories and Controversies

Abstract

This case study will reflect on the use of documentary analysis and oral history interviews in the field of Science and Technology Studies. It describes how these methods were used to understand the links between laboratories and public controversies surrounding science and technology. Traditionally, laboratories have been studied using non-participant observation. However, this has served to obscure the institutional practices that can shape the nature of the knowledge produced and how this knowledge relates to controversies. Using documentary analysis and oral history interviews to study laboratories poses new challenges for the researcher in terms of gaining access to data, and requires the researcher to think carefully about how these methods can be used in concert. It also underlines how taking a different methodological approach can fundamentally alter the nature of the data produced, and how this can lead to fresh insights.

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