Home on the Range

What and Where is the Middle in Science and Technology Studies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5337045
AutoresSally Wyatt (0000-0001-6663-1591, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), Brian Balmer (0000-0002-8130-8423, University College London)
Ano2007
Volume32
Fascículo6
Páginas619-626
Data de publicação2007-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243907306085
OpenAlexW2149223794
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas22
Referências citadas4

This article introduces the special issue on middle-range theory in science and technology studies (STS), providing the background to its production and reviewing different notions of "middle." It begins with Merton's ideas about middle-range theory as a way of moving beyond the production of either descriptions or theories of everything. Instead of seeing the middle as the space between the theoretical imagination and the detailed depiction of everyday practices, the authors outline three ways of thinking about the middle range: as an adjective, the closest to Merton's conception; as a noun, the liminal place between theories, audiences, and levels; and as a verb, a process, a means of making connections across time, discipline, community, and place. A summary of each of the articles in this special issue is provided, preceding a call for further discussion about the role of case studies and the nature of the middle in STS

Adjective · Depiction · Epistemology · Law of excluded middle · Liminality · Linguistics · Noun · Sociology · Verb · Anthropology · Information Systems Theories and Implementation · Philosophy