Roth2005a

From emcawiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Roth2005a
BibType ARTICLE
Key Roth2005a
Author(s) Wolff-Michael Roth
Title Making classifications (at) work: ordering practices in science
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, science, classification
Publisher
Year 2005
Language
City
Month
Journal Social Studies of Science
Volume 35
Number 4
Pages 581–621
URL Link
DOI 10.1177/0306312705052102
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

Download BibTex

Abstract

To make and use classifications is human. At least in the sciences, classification activities involve high degrees of uncertainty. Drawing on ethnography and conversation analysis of videotaped scientists, the activities of classifying and making classifications are analyzed considering four types of situations that arise when there is certainty or uncertainty about the object to be classified and the classification scheme to be used. As a collection, the different analyses of everyday scientific work articulate classification as a physically and temporally situated and socially distributed activity that does not eliminate uncertainty and inconsistency, but tends to minimize contradiction.

Notes