Magnetic Appeal: MRI and the Myth of Transparency

Appendix. Research Methodology

Appendix Research Methodology M y analysis of MRI draws on in-depth research that includes interviews with four scientists recognized as developers of the technology , content analysis of popular culture narratives, fieldwork at three imaging sites and five MRI-related conferences, interviews with medical professionals affiliated with research sites, and targeted literature reviews. This multimethod approach allowed me to investigate how the history of MRI is told and to examine how health care policies, popular ideas about sight and knowledge, and changes in the organization of work practices co-create MRI in practice. The Emergence of MRI Technology To research the historical development of the technology, I conducted indepth interviews with scientists who contributed to its invention and archival research. First, I interviewed Paul Lauterbur, Raymond Damadian, Larry Crooks, and John Mallard, four scientists involved in the creation of MRI technology, about design and data decisions made in the 1970s and 1980s. Each researcher was trained in a different scientific profession and was part of a different research site. Chemist Paul Lauterbur headed a laboratory at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, New York; physician Raymond Damadian directed the research laboratory at Downstate Medical Center in New York; engineer Larry Crooks worked with the University of California at San Francisco research team; and physicist John Mallard led a laboratory at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. While other scientists also contributed to the development of MRI technology, these four diverse researchers provide insight into the context and decisions that shaped early MRI research. I used open-ended questions to interview each scientist, and all interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Second, I critically analyzed scientific papers and patents related to MRI, newspaper articles published during the 1970s and 1980s, and secondary historical accounts. These materials were used to understand the scientific innovations, political pressures, social actors, and social networks involved in the development of MRI technology. I also coded historical accounts for recurring themes and omissions. Examining how the creation of MRI is typically framed, I found that a sustained discussion of cultural contexts was often missing from standard histories. Analysis of both the archival materials and the in-depth interviews provide the data for the particular rewriting of the development of MRI technology I present in chapter 2. Representations of MRI in Popular Culture I examined the content of magazines, television shows, newspaper articles , popular science books, and museum exhibits produced between 1999 through 2006 to understand the symbolic meanings ascribed to MRI. Using Lexis Nexus Academic, I analyzed references to MRI in articles published in U.S. newspapers and magazines. I also read academic and popular books about medical imaging, viewed exhibits at museums and theme parks, and examined references to MRI in network television dramas. Friends, family members, and colleagues contributed to this component of data collection by keeping an eye out for imaging technology references in cartoons, television shows, and the like. I used a modified grounded theory approach to systematically analyze how MRI was represented in documents and sources (Glaser and Strauss 1967; Strauss 1993). Using an inductive methodology, I read through articles , museum texts, and transcripts multiple times to see which narratives were commonly used to discuss MRI technology. After identifying key narrative frames, I methodically coded each document to see how often and when such frames were used. Since the social construction of a technology is an ever-changing process, future research should analyze emergent narrative practices. My findings apply solely to the years analyzed (1999–2006)—the narratives used to discuss MRI technology may change in upcoming years. 168 APPENDIX Ethnographic Research The fieldwork component of my research occurred at multiple sites. To familiarize myself with new directions in imaging research and the professional worlds of radiologists and technologists, I conducted fieldwork at five MRI-related conferences: the Biomedical Imaging Symposium: Visualizing the Future of Biology and Medicine; the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference; a Clinical Functional MRI conference; a Magnetic Resonance Angiography conference; and a conference aimed at preparing technologists for the state registry exam. During each conference, I took notes on presentation content. Presentation content included both the presentation itself and the question and answer period at the end of each presentation. I also observed how participants interacted with each other during and between presentations. Finally, I informally spoke with conference attendees during meals and between presentations...