A Study of Scientific Practice through Ethnographic Fieldwork

通过对科学家和技术人员实践的民族志研究，本文探讨了科学家和技术人员都是通过不断参与重组自己的社会网络来完成学习的。例如，科学家在实验室中的“个人”实验和研究主题的形成不是为自己进行的，而是成功地参与到自己的实验室社区和实验室外的社会网络中，包括不同的研究领域。在我参观的植物生物技术实验室里，一位教授、一位研究助理和同学同样是组织成员学习的功能性资源。教授和研究助理与化学公司组织联合研究项目，有意让学生参与到植物生物技术的实际网络中。另一方面，在实验室社区中积累了各种各样的认知人工制品，如实验笔记本，这些人工制品支持成员获得正式和非正式的知识和技术。这个实验室社区是由进入植物生物技术实践的保障系统组织和维护的。个体成员通过参与实践共同体的过程，改变自己的认知和社会角色，发展自己的知识和技术。技术人员的实践也不例外。技术的形成深深植根于与社会制度的关系之中。没有一种技术可以独立于社会系统之外。因此，科学家和技术人员的学习都发生在组织、维护和重组社会网络和系统的过程中。

Through ethnographic research on scientists' and technologists' practice,this paper explores that both scientists and technologists accomplish their learning through their constant participation in reorganizing their own social networks. For instance, scientists 'individual' experiments in a lab and the research theme formation are not conducted for themselves, but those are succeeded in participating in their own lab communities and social networks outside the lab including different research fields. In the plant biotechnology lab I visited, a professor, a research assistant and fellow students equally work as functional resources for organizing members' learning. The professor and the research assistant organize joint research projects with chemical companies, intentionally having their students participated in practical networks of plant biotechnology. On the other hand, there are various cognitive artifacts such as experimental notebooks accumulated in the lab community, which support the members access to both formal and informal knowledge and technologies. This lab community is organized and maintained by the guarantee system of access to plant biotechnology practice. Individual members change their cognitive and social roles through the process of participation in the community of practice, and develop their knowledge and technologies. Technologists' practice is not exception. The formation of technology is deeply embedded in the relationship with social systems. There is no technology independent from social systems. Thus, both scientists and technologists learning occur in the process of organizing, maintaining and reorganizing social networks and systems.