The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts: or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology might Benefit Each Other

Type Journal Article Author Trevor J. Pinch Author Wiebe E. Bijker URL http://sss.sagepub.com/content/14/3/399 Volume 14 Issue 3 Pages 399-441 Publication Social Studies of Science ISSN 0306-3127, 1460-3659 Date 08/01/1984 Journal Abbr Social Studies of Science DOI 10.1177/030631284014003004 Accessed 2015-09-25 20:10:35 Library Catalog sss.sagepub.com Language en Abstract The need for an integrated social constructivist approach towards the study of science and technology is outlined. Within such a programme both scientific facts and technological artefacts are to be understood as social constructs. Literature on the sociology of science, the science-technology relationship, and technology studies is reviewed. The empirical programme of relativism within the sociology of scientific knowledge and a recent study of the social construction of technological artefacts are combined to produce the new approach. The concepts of `interpretative flexibility' and `closure mechanism', and the notion of `social group' are developed and illustrated by reference to a study of solar physics and a study of the development of the bicycle. The paper concludes by setting out some of the terrain to be explored in future studies. Short Title The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts