Research Infrastructure Challenges in Non-Establishment Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic
New approaches to research, which we might call "non-establishment" research, are frequently conducted outside of typical research institutions that provide infrastructure such as funding, training, and oversight. This poses a variety of challenges to the success of non-establishment resea...
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Published in | Citizen science : theory and practice Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 26 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Ubiquity Press Ltd
22.08.2025
Ubiquity Press |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
ISSN | 2057-4991 2057-4991 |
DOI | 10.5334/cstp.805 |
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Abstract | New approaches to research, which we might call "non-establishment" research, are frequently conducted outside of typical research institutions that provide infrastructure such as funding, training, and oversight. This poses a variety of challenges to the success of non-establishment research. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a chance to observe, through digital ethnography, how these challenges arose and were navigated in a do-it-yourself (DIY) Bio project by Just One Giant Lab (JOGL) called the "OpenCOVID19 Initiative." Our results demonstrate that a lack of infrastructure elements-including funding, time, experience and expertise, and organizational structures-impeded progress, but that non-establishment research can create its own infrastructure, designed with its own interests, goals, and priorities in mind. Our research revealed early glimpses of what this could look like and suggests ways to advance in this direction in the future. |
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AbstractList | New approaches to research, which we might call "non-establishment" research, are frequently conducted outside of typical research institutions that provide infrastructure such as funding, training, and oversight. This poses a variety of challenges to the success of non-establishment research. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a chance to observe, through digital ethnography, how these challenges arose and were navigated in a do-it-yourself (DIY) Bio project by Just One Giant Lab (JOGL) called the "OpenCOVID19 Initiative." Our results demonstrate that a lack of infrastructure elements-including funding, time, experience and expertise, and organizational structures-impeded progress, but that non-establishment research can create its own infrastructure, designed with its own interests, goals, and priorities in mind. Our research revealed early glimpses of what this could look like and suggests ways to advance in this direction in the future. Keywords: Non-establishment research, DIY biology, community bio New approaches to research, which we might call “non-establishment” research, are frequently conducted outside of typical research institutions that provide infrastructure such as funding, training, and oversight. This poses a variety of challenges to the success of non-establishment research. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a chance to observe, through digital ethnography, how these challenges arose and were navigated in a do-it-yourself (DIY) Bio project by Just One Giant Lab (JOGL) called the “OpenCOVID19 Initiative.” Our results demonstrate that a lack of infrastructure elements—including funding, time, experience and expertise, and organizational structures—impeded progress, but that non-establishment research can create its own infrastructure, designed with its own interests, goals, and priorities in mind. Our research revealed early glimpses of what this could look like and suggests ways to advance in this direction in the future. |
Audience | Academic |
Author | Wexler, Anna Pearlman, Alex Choi, Rebekah Rasmussen, Lisa M. |
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Cites_doi | 10.1128/jmbe.v17i1.1013 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.07.009 10.1002/hast.1194 10.1007/s11693-013-9116-4 10.1080/09537325.2021.1968373 10.1111/radm.12470 10.1145/3532106.3533521 |
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Title | Research Infrastructure Challenges in Non-Establishment Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
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