Behind the Science: the invisible work of data management in Big Science

Some of the largest quantities of data produced in today’s data-dominated world occur as the result of experiments taking place at Big Science facilities. These are facilities like CERN, where cutting-edge scientific discoveries take place, changing our understandings of the universe and promising the answers to some of society’s most pressing problems.

The production of high-quality, reliable data is fundamental to this advancement of scientific knowledge. However, both historically and today, Big Science has tended to ignore how the collection, processing and storage of experimental data at these facilities shapes this new knowledge.

This book tells the story of a unique research journey following the people responsible for designing and implementing data management at a new Big Science facility, the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden. It addresses a gap in the scholarly literature by highlighting the role of data management within the broader landscape of changing scientific experimentation.

It draws on insights from Critical Data Studies and Science & Technology Studies to investigate how this data is framed by the context in which it is conceived of and generated.

This volume is contracted to Bristol University Press, and is scheduled for publication late 2023/early 2024, coinciding with the formal opening of the ESS to visitors.