Informal beliefs and the social structure of science: the case of molecular genetics

This thesis is offered as a preliminary contribution to the development of an interpretive sociology of science. Certain key aspects of such a theoretical perspective are identified and discussed; these aspects are then confronted with empirical evidence derived from the development of molecular genetics, focussing particularly upon four key scientific groups: the Fly-Room; the Phage Group; pre-war x-ray crystallography; and the post-war biological crystallographers. It is concluded that the study suggests that the interpretive perspective is likely to have much to offer the sociology of science, but that considerable problems exist in the collection of relevant evidence in sociological studies of the history of science.