Project description
Arriving at new knowledge: the case of a particle physics collaboration
How is new knowledge generated and validated in modern, large-scale research collaborations? This is a key question the EU-funded project NEPI aims to answer. To do this, it will use state-of-the-art tools from digital humanities and focus on the ATLAS collaboration at the CERN particle physics laboratory. The ATLAS collaboration, along with another research team, is best known for discovering the Higgs particle in 2012. The project will also develop historiographic guidelines that can be transferred to future epistemological studies of modern scientific collaborations. Project work will provide a comprehensive picture of recent research practice in particle physics and beyond while contributing to the philosophy of collective knowledge generation.
Objective
The present project will contribute to research in the history and philosophy of science through extensive use of state-of-the-art tools from the digital humanities. The project will focus on an investigation of recent research practice in particle physics at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in order to gain a better understanding of how knowledge is generated and validated in very large scientific collaborations. The main working hypothesis of the project is that collective research processes can be characterized, in epistemologically relevant terms, through a bird’s eye view analysis of the collaboration’s internal communication. The internal communication will be reconstructed from born-digital documents (e-mails, internal wiki pages, etc.) which accrue in the research practice of the collaboration. Abstracting from the case study, the project will also develop historiographic guidelines that can be transferred to future epistemological studies of modern scientific collaborations. Last but not least, the project will contribute to the philosophy of collective knowledge generation, in particular to recent issues in “network epistemology”, by adapting the theoretical models to better fit important real-world cases.
Until recently, it was nearly impossible to capture large-scale and complex research processes, such as the ones at CERN, and make them accessible for epistemological analysis. Almost all the studies of the research practice at CERN or similar cases have so far been restricted to the analysis of published articles, selected interviews and participant observation. Accompanied by historiographic guidelines and practical strategies (both of which are lacking at the moment) for best practices in the history and philosophy of science based on born-digital sources, the application of digital tools and computational methods may finally help us attain a maximally comprehensive picture of recent research practice in particle physics and beyond.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion philosophy epistemology
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics
- humanities history and archaeology history
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
10623 Berlin
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.