Rethinking science as a vocation: 100 years of industrialization of academic science

• In Event: 1555 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 7. The Job of Research: Examining the Academic Institution of Science

Abstract

Science has long been characterized as a craft practice, and even as a vocation. However, science is increasingly becoming a team activity. We argue that scientific teams are becoming bureaucratized with larger size: characterized by division of labor, standardization, hierarchy and decentralization. Furthermore, we develop this argument to show how this structural change can affect the training and careers of scientists at the individual level and also performance at the team level. We then review a series of empirical studies we have conducted in this area to show the degree of bureaucratization and its effects on the work, careers and products of science. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these theories and findings and develop a set of policy recommendations and outline a research agenda designed to develop science policies and a sociology of science that match this shift from vocation to bureaucracy in science.

Authors

• You-Na Lee, National University of Singapore

• John P. Walsh, Georgia Tech