Multi-sited Ethnography as a Middle Range Methodology for Contemporary STS

Bibliographic Data

ID5337213
AuthorsC Hine (0000-0002-1172-0252, University of Surrey, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume32
Issue6
Pages652-671
Publication date2007-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243907303598
OpenAlexW2170270442
LanguageEN
Citations received114
References cited27

The paper draws its inspiration from the provocation which Merton offered sociology both to engage with empirical data and to perform analyses adequate to guide intervention beyond the particular case. Whilst contemporary STS is very different both in its models of theory and its forms of methodology, this paper suggests Merton's concerns with engagement and adequacy provide a useful way to interrogate current approaches. Specifically, the paper explores some recent anthropological conceptions of ethnographic fieldwork that have provided potent models for the study of scientific and technological cultures. These multi-sited approaches have also provided the opportunity to develop new notions of intervention and explore alternative ways of making contributions to development of theory and practice. In the process of pursuing the goals of engagement and adequacy notions of ethnography have however become stretched. This sense of detachment from methodological canons accentuates the need for methodological debate and skill-sharing in STS

Empirical research · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Information Systems Theories and Implementation · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction

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