T. Soderqvist et Am. Silverstein, PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS - A NEW PROSOPOGRAPHICAL APPROACH TO THE DISCIPLINARY HISTORY OF SCIENCE - THE CASE OF IMMUNOLOGY, 1951-72, Social studies of science, 24(3), 1994, pp. 513-548
Citations number
139
Categorie Soggetti
History & Philosophy of Sciences","History & Philosophy of Sciences","History & Philosophy of Sciences
To handle the enormous amount of sources in modern and contemporary sc
ience, the historian can use different quantitative methods, particula
rly varieties of citation analysis. So far, all these methods have bee
n based on publication data. Taking as its point of departure the fact
that meetings constitute a pervasive, yet neglected, aspect of scienc
e, this paper introduces analysis of participation in scientific meeti
ngs. The strength of this new prosopographical method is illustrated b
y an analysis of international immunological meetings in the period 19
51-72. Frequency of participation in meetings seems to be correlated t
o professional standing in immunology. By means of cluster analysis of
participation data, the subdisciplinary structure and dynamics of imm
unology can be reconstructed.