Unearthing the Infrastructure: Humans and Sensors in Field-Based Scientific Research

Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2012

65 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2012

See all articles by Matthew Mayernik

Matthew Mayernik

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Jilian Wallis

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Information; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

Christine L. Borgman

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Distributed sensing systems for studying scientific phenomena are critical applications of information technologies. By embedding computational intelligence in the environment of study, sensing systems allow researchers to study phenomena at spatial and temporal scales that were previously impossible to achieve. We present an ethnographic study of field research practices among researchers in the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS), a National Science Foundation Science & Technology Center devoted to developing wireless sensing systems for scientific and social applications. Using the concepts of boundary objects and trading zones, we trace the processes of collaborative research around sensor technology development and adoption within CENS. Over the 10-year lifespan of CENS, sensor technologies, sensor data, field research methods, and statistical expertise each emerged as boundary objects that were understood differently by the science and technology partners. We illustrate how sensing technologies were incompatible with field-based environmental research until researchers “unearthed” their infrastructures, explicitly reintroducing human skill and expertise into the data collection process and developing new collaborative languages that emphasized building dynamic sensing systems that addressed human needs. In collaborating around a dynamic sensing model, the sensing systems became embedded not in the environment of study, but in the practices of the scientists.

Keywords: infrastructure, collaboration, boundary objects, trading zones, sensors, ecology, seismology, environmental science, scientific data, technology driven research

Suggested Citation

Mayernik, Matthew and Mayernik, Matthew and Wallis, Jillian and Wallis, Jillian and Borgman, Christine L., Unearthing the Infrastructure: Humans and Sensors in Field-Based Scientific Research (2012). Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2148740

Matthew Mayernik (Contact Author)

National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) ( email )

Boulder, CO

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

405 Hilgard Avenue
Box 951361
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

Jillian Wallis

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Information ( email )

304 West Hall
550 East University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092
United States

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Graduate School of Education and Information Studies ( email )

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520
United States

Christine L. Borgman

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

405 Hilgard Avenue
Box 951361
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

HOME PAGE: http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/cborgman/

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