Standardization and codification in the production of science.

Standardization and codification in the production of
science.
A case study on the Pharmaceutical Industry
Nuria Moratal
BETA
Strasbourg University
April 2016. Ingenio PhD Days
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
1 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
2 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
3 / 31
Problematic and goals
Research question
Role that the availability of data bases containing codified
scientific knowledge have on the production of knowledge in
science based industries
The provision of this data bases constitutes a highly valuable way of
knowledge transfer between public research and the private sector
These data bases make knowledge easily reachable and usable by
industry.
This allows for the use of a wider variety of knowledge
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
4 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
5 / 31
Problematic and goals
Context
Knowledge codification as the transformation of knowledge on
computational data: gens or proteins for example
Limited number of disciplines such as biology, chemistry or physics
Knowledge comes from observation of phenomena and objects of the
natural world
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
6 / 31
Problematic and goals
Context: Bioinformatics and Big Data
Bioinformatics develops methods and software tools for
understanding, organizing and processing biological data. It
combines computer science, statistics, mathematics.
Express molecules, proteins and other organic compounds in
computational language
Models to look for patterns, data mining, statistical clustering,
machine learning, ontologies, etc.
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
7 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
8 / 31
Problematic and goals
Data, codification and creativity
Computation implies codification
Codification makes knowledge more accessible
Knowledge distance matters less and distant knowledge
becomes available
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
Aprilof2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
9 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
10 / 31
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
What do we need to produce knowledge?
Depends on disciplines
From only a brain to expensive machines (CERN)
Common to all the disciplines
Previously acquired knowledge
Ability to create knowledge by combining existing one
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
11 / 31
Research gap and theoretical arguments
On the relevance of knowledge distance
Knowledge distance: Firms tend to use knowledge which is
similar or related to their own knowledge: easier to find and
understand
This limits creativity and the chances of more innovative
breakthrough ideas
Variety tends to enable creativity and innovation
Repeated combination of similar elements
Data bases containing scientific knowledge could change this
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
12 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
13 / 31
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Contribution
The existence of big reliable databases and associated IT services
offering access to codified scientific knowledge allows firms to access
a wider variety of knowledge
These data-bases and I&T services have to be freely available for an
optimal provision and use
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
14 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
15 / 31
Method and data
Methodology
Mixed use of desk research (document and literature review) and
qualitative case study methodology
The theory is built first in a deductive way but then shaped and
enriched with the fieldwork information
Not a theory testing logic
Theory and data feed each other
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
16 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
17 / 31
Method and data
Case study
Case study. European Bio-informatics Institute
Qualitative data from semi structured interviews
20 interviews
EBI staff + industrial users (pharma)
Desk and document research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
18 / 31
Method and data
Case study
The European Bioinformatics Institute(EBI)
Centre for research and services in bioinformatics,and part of
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
Hosts a number of publicly open, free to use life science resources,
including biomedical databases, analysis tools and bio-ontologies.
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Case study interviews
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Case study interviews
Leading pharmaceutical companies
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
21 / 31
Desk research
web, press, bibliographic research documents and policy reports
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
22 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
23 / 31
Results
The existence of big reliable databases and associated IT services
offering access to codified scientific knowledge allows firms to access
a wider variety of knowledge
This can enable cross discipline combination and increase creativity
Able to use knowledge from different disciplines and sub-disciplines
than their own
knowledge produced by different communities or networks but within
the same discipline
Connecting knowledge that otherwise remained unconnected
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
24 / 31
Results
The existence of big reliable databases and associated IT services
offering access to codified scientific knowledge allows firms to access
a wider variety of knowledge
This can enable cross discipline combination and increase creativity
Main gain comes from standards
Before the existence of EBI there was not a common way to name gens
and proteins and it took a lot of effort to find the scientific papers
talking about a specific one
Since these databases were created researchers from different
communities speak now the same language and they can use a wider
variety (and quantity) of resources
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Results
The knowledge pool that is in the public domain can increase its level
of codification and its availability
This can enable innovation since it offers access to scientific
knowledge that previously was not possible to access
Fill gaps between disciplines
Traditional barriers to creativity can be overcome thanks to the
codification and standardization of data and scientific results
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Results
These data-bases and I&T services have to be freely available for an
optimal provision and use
Data Bases are club goods, a kind of public good
The solutions traditionally offered for club goods are public provision
or regulation
Similar to public libraries, public provision can be defended based on
socially desirable use
Standardization is more likely to happen in the case of monopoly
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
27 / 31
Outline
1
Problematic and goals
Research question
Context, bioinformatics and data
Data, codification and creativity
2
Research gap and theoretical arguments
Knowledge production function
Contribution
3
Method and data
Methodology
Case study
4
Results
Results
Discussion and Future research
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Discussion and Future research
Risks
RISKS
Validation and reliability of content
Standardization might leave parts of information out of the code
Anecdotal evidence showing that ”too much knowledge” can
encumber the researcher
Can’t be extended to every discipline
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
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Discussion and Future research
Policy recommendations and future research
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Public research is to be made publicly available to everyone’s use for
creating innovation
Production of knowledge is as important as its availability
FUTURE RESEARCH:
Extention to public research/public knowledge production
Model to defend public provision
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
Ingenio PhD Days
30 / 31
Thank you for your attention. Questions?
Nuria Moratal (BETA Strasbourg University)Standardization and codification in the production
April of
2016.
science.
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