Collecting Experiments: Making Big Data Biology
Bruno J. Strasser
Abstract
This book traces the development and use of data collections, especially in the experimental life sciences, from the early twentieth century to the present. It shows that the current "big data" revolution is best understood as the coming together of two older ways of knowing-collecting and experimenting, the museum and the laboratory. This transformation has led to major changes in research practices and profound reflections on the proper professional roles of data producers, collectors, curators, and analysts. Exploring the history of a wide range of fields, including microbiology genetics, t ... More
This book traces the development and use of data collections, especially in the experimental life sciences, from the early twentieth century to the present. It shows that the current "big data" revolution is best understood as the coming together of two older ways of knowing-collecting and experimenting, the museum and the laboratory. This transformation has led to major changes in research practices and profound reflections on the proper professional roles of data producers, collectors, curators, and analysts. Exploring the history of a wide range of fields, including microbiology genetics, taxonomy, crystallography, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and molecular biology, the book argues that by serving as knowledge repositories, as well as indispensable tools for producing new knowledge, these databases function as digital museums for the twenty-first century. This perspective sheds new light on current issues such as data sharing, open access, and public participation in research.
Keywords:
big data,
collection,
museum,
laboratory,
history,
natural history,
database,
open access,
public participation
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2019 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226634999 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: January 2020 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226635187.001.0001 |
