UCLA

How does recordkeeping occur within an organization that manages wicked problems? A wicked problem is a complex and intractable problem that requires collaboration among multiple actors. This thesis puts forth the complex system records model to explain recordkeeping in an organization that manages wicked problems. This model states that such an organization uses recordkeeping to perpetuate an organizational reality. Using the case of the President's Malaria Initiative and the method of interpretive inquiry, this thesis finds strong support for the complex system records model and shows how the model better explains recordkeeping in an organization that manages wicked problems than do alternative explanations. Its work in combating the global public health problem of malaria in developing countries illustrates the importance of recordkeeping for its antimalarial operations.

This thesis contributes to archival science by proposing a conceptual model of recordkeeping in organizations that manage wicked problems. Complementing existing models (e.g., the records continuum model), the complex system records model combines perspectives from other disciplines(complexity science, management science, and philosophy) and shows how an organization uses recordkeeping to perpetuate an organizational reality. In addition, this thesis also contributes to biomedical informatics by emphasizing the social construction of scientific knowledge. An organization chooses a particular social epistemology of scientific knowledge that shapes the type of information that is used for recordkeeping.