Beyond data sharing: Artifact ecology of a collaborative nanophotonics research centre

Scientific communities have long been concerned with the design and implementation of effective infrastructures for data access and collaborative scientific work. Recent studies have shown an increase in collaborative data generation and reuse. However, further improvements require a deeper understanding of the social and technological circumstances under which they emerge. To that effect we conduct in-situ observation study of a Nano-photonics Research Centre. We consider the artifact ecology that evolved from the Centre's common experimentation and data platform, the scientific practices, and the intricate interactions with digital artifacts that arise from the researchers' activities. We uncover the use of progress summaries for collaborative data interpretation and knowledge sharing. By studying this reputable collaborative scientific environment we (1) identified the factors that led to its functional and effective artifact ecology and (2) propose expansions of tools and services to improve it further. The latter include effective support for contextual search, browsing, and flexible viewing of information artifacts based on relevant parameters and properties.