Marlot Kuiper

250 Connective Routines theoretical generalizations that have explanatory power for other settings as well (Mortelmans, 2007). In short, this dissertation might be of interest to those who are particular interested in surgical care and patient safety, but also to those who have a wider interest in standardization of professional work. 8.3 Answering the sub research questions The research questions of this dissertation were answered by means of ethnographic research. At the start of my research, I conducted explorative conversations with key actors. These extensive conversations allowed me to gain a broad overview of the work in surgical care, and the issues and challenges that were identified by professionals themselves. The research questions are formulated based on a review of the literature, and in interaction with the research field. I then ‘zoomed in’ on working with a team checklist by shadowing various medical specialists in two hospitals. Shadowing allowed me to develop a comprehensive picture of standards ‘in action’. During shadowing, I focused on ostensive aspects (how professionals talk about standards and how they refer to it), their performances (what they do, at specific moments, in specific places), and artefacts (the representation of the checklist, the design of the operating theatre and so on). The empirical chapters (5,6, and 7) are based on the same ethnographic data, but they all have a different analytical focus (figure 1). In this section I will first answer the research questions one by one, to thereafter answer the main question. The first three questions have a theoretical focus. Question four has an analytical focus. The fifth question is about the research design. Questions six, seven, and eight are empirical questions, and the final question is about the implications of this study. “What are professionals and what is professional work, and what transitions can be identified? (chapter 2) The first theoretical question concentrated on the specific nature of professional work. From the literature, I concluded that professional occupations can be distinguished from other occupations on three dimensions: a cognitive