Organizational Autonomy and Professional Norms in Science: A Case Study of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory

Abstract

Functionalist theories in the sociology of science suggest that applied research organizations, insofar as they violate professional norms of research autonomy, professional recognition and open communication, also violate the epistemological and methodological requirements of successful research. The analysis presented here, based on interviews with scientists at a major US nuclear weapons laboratory (the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory), suggests that research norms and criteria of success are both situationally defined. Recent models of formal organizations are used to describe two levels at which professional norms are coopted to achieve organizational research goals: the first level is the internal structure of the organization, and the second, environmental, level consists of professional and peer relations of Livermore scientists and the laboratory's relations to the state. The conclusions suggest some structural limitations of this alternative model of science.