Actor-network theory: a suitable framework to understand how land cover mapping projects develop?

The Countryside Surveys of 1990 and 2000 are introduced and their methodological or ontological differences described. Actor-network theory examines the processes by which individual scientific claims are supported, debated and constructed by determining the interactions, connections and activities of the actors involved. The actors and their networks for the Countryside Surveys of 1990 and 2000 are compared. Such an analysis provides a description of why science evolves. Changes in the commissioning context behind scientific results and the process by which empirical facts are established are clearly illustrated. This type of analysis goes beyond the technological developments that would be revealed if only the scientific elements were examined. This type of analysis provides a useful tool to those seeking to reconcile ontological and semantic differences between scientific data. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.