Page 28 - Becoming Metric Wise

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Scientific Research and Communication

2.1.3 Citizen Science
A relative newcomer in the realm of science is the citizen scientist and
the terms citizen science or crowd science. This term refers to amateurs
or networks of volunteers who participate in a scientific project, usually
by collecting or analyzing data. It is a form of public participation in the
scientific enterprise. It is said that such participation contributes positively
to science-society-policy interactions and is a form of democratization of
science. Newer technologies, often computer related, have increased the
options for citizen science.

2.1.4 Open Science

Following the footsteps of movements like open source, open science is a
movement that aims to make research and research output more accessi-
ble. By making data, software and publications openly accessible,
researchers can increase the transparency and replicability of their
research, both for colleagues and a wider audience. As such, open science
and citizen science are related in bringing science to the general public.

2.2 SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

2.2.1 Types of Scientific Discoveries:
Koshland’s cha-cha-cha Theory

In 2007 the journal Science published a posthumous essay in which
Koshland, a former editor of Science, formulated the cha-cha-cha theory
of scientific discovery (Koshland, 2007). Koshland proposed to subdivide
scientific discoveries into three categories: charge, challenge and chance,
hence the name cha-cha-cha theory.
A discovery belongs to the “Charge” category if the problem is
obvious (e.g., cure cancer), but the way to solve it is not clear at all.
The discoverer is he or she who sees what everyone else has seen,
but thinks what no one else has thought before. A typical example,
provided by Koshland, is Newton’s discovery and explanation of
gravity.
A discovery falls into the “Challenge” category if it is the response to
an accumulation of facts or concepts that were unexplained. Often these
facts were brought to the fore by individuals referred to as “uncoverers”
by Koshland. An example is Einstein’s theory of special relativity, a
description of the relation between space and time, later extended by the