How scientists interact with bacteria: Creating new knowledge

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a current investigation analyzing the interactions between scientists and their objects of study, specifically bacteria, to understand the role of physical objects during informational processes of investigation and research; it focuses on the techniques that the scientists deployed in the laboratory during the course of their investigation in order to generate information and build knowledge. This investigation is carried out in a micro‐biology laboratory at an Australasian university that studies particular bacteria and how they become resistant to antibiotics. This study uses Latour's Actor Network Theory (ANT) as a conceptual framework and methodological approach, in order to understand the associations and interactions enacted in the laboratory as a mechanism to produce scientific papers, and how these interactions are mediated by a range of actors including technology, practices and personal events. This study also discusses some of the implications of using ANT as a conceptual framework and methodological approach, and its potential value as a theoretical foundation for future research in information studies.