Research cultures as an explanatory factor

Abstract

In this article, we explore the potential of culture as an explanatory concept, using the sociology of science as an example. We first argue for a concept of culture that is sufficiently narrow to represent specific factors influencing human actions, and also propose such a concept. We then demonstrate that specific cultural assumptions can be derived from observations of researchers’ practices and subsumed to our concept of culture by analysing Knorr-Cetina’s comparison of epistemic cultures in high energy physics and molecular biology (Epistemic cultures: How the sciences make knowledge. 1999). In a third step, we use our own empirical material to discuss cases in which cultural factors contribute to explanations of researchers’ behaviour. We conclude that cultural factors are rarely needed as contributions to multicausal explanations of research actions. If they are required, our approach provides a workable solution in the form of heuristic guidance in the search for cultural assumptions, a framework for comparing cultures and a basis for integrating cultural assumptions with other influences on action.