Science shop
Encyclopedia
A science shop is a facility, often attached to a specific department of a university
or an NGO, that provides independent participatory research support in response to concerns experienced by civil society. It's a demand-driven and bottom-up approach to research. Their work can be described as community-based research (CBR). Science shops were first established in the Netherlands
in the 1970s and their main function is to increase both public awareness and to provide access to science
and technology
to laymen or non-profit organization
s.
In practice, this means civil society organizations will have access to scientific research at low or no cost. Science shops that are based at universities give students opportunities to do community-based research as part of their curriculum. Science shops are not restricted to the natural science
s. They can cover topics in all scientific disciplines, ranging from natural sciences to social sciences
and humanities.
Science shops are managed and operated by both permanent staff members and students who screen questions provided by members of civil society. Science shop staff use these questions to provide challenging problems to both research students and university faculty members in hope of finding solutions to the question. Students who participate in science shops often can acquire credits toward their degree. Also, many students do their postgraduate work on problems referred to by science shops.
A myriad of science shops have developed expertise in specific areas. For example, the first science shop attached to the chemistry
department at Utrecht University
is particularly skilled in evaluation reports on soil analysis.
Clients are often directed to the science shop that is best suited to address their particular concerns. The Dutch
system has provided many benefits to environmentalists, workers, and social workers. Science shops, in general, have aided environmentalists in better analyzing industrial pollutants, and helped workers to better evaluate the safety and employment consequences of new production processes. Moreover, they have enhanced the understanding of social workers in how to deal with disaffected teenagers.
The Dutch system has inspired science shops in nations across Europe
such as Denmark
, Austria
, Germany
, Norway
, the UK, Belgium
and Romania
. Moreover, there are currently science shops in countries outside of Europe such as Canada
. The University of Waterloo Science Shophttp://www.scienceshop.ca in Canada is a community service centre for knowledge transfer. Science Shops around the world are linked through the International Science Shop network Living Knowledge.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or an NGO, that provides independent participatory research support in response to concerns experienced by civil society. It's a demand-driven and bottom-up approach to research. Their work can be described as community-based research (CBR). Science shops were first established in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in the 1970s and their main function is to increase both public awareness and to provide access to science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
to laymen or non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s.
In practice, this means civil society organizations will have access to scientific research at low or no cost. Science shops that are based at universities give students opportunities to do community-based research as part of their curriculum. Science shops are not restricted to the natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s. They can cover topics in all scientific disciplines, ranging from natural sciences to social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and humanities.
Science shops are managed and operated by both permanent staff members and students who screen questions provided by members of civil society. Science shop staff use these questions to provide challenging problems to both research students and university faculty members in hope of finding solutions to the question. Students who participate in science shops often can acquire credits toward their degree. Also, many students do their postgraduate work on problems referred to by science shops.
A myriad of science shops have developed expertise in specific areas. For example, the first science shop attached to the chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
department at Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
is particularly skilled in evaluation reports on soil analysis.
Clients are often directed to the science shop that is best suited to address their particular concerns. The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
system has provided many benefits to environmentalists, workers, and social workers. Science shops, in general, have aided environmentalists in better analyzing industrial pollutants, and helped workers to better evaluate the safety and employment consequences of new production processes. Moreover, they have enhanced the understanding of social workers in how to deal with disaffected teenagers.
The Dutch system has inspired science shops in nations across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
such as Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the UK, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Moreover, there are currently science shops in countries outside of Europe such as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The University of Waterloo Science Shophttp://www.scienceshop.ca in Canada is a community service centre for knowledge transfer. Science Shops around the world are linked through the International Science Shop network Living Knowledge.
Sources
- Sardar, Ziauddin and Loon, Borin Van. 2001. Introducing Science. USA: Totem Books (UK: Icon Books).