Do-It-Yourself (DIY) laboratories and science, technology, and innovation (STI): trends, implications and future research

摘要

DIY laboratory movement across the globe has been trendy over the years. Consequently, the past decade has witnessed a steady rise in the literature devoted to various aspects of the DIY movement. This augurs well for detailed research into trends and literature gaps for future research. To this end, a systematic literature review on journal articles published between 1990 and 2019 is conducted. Findings indicate that DIY activities may be a global movement but research reporting their operations are predominantly based on developed economies. Contrary to the perception that DIY activities are carried out at homes by novices using unconventional means; some DIY activities are also carried out by (semi-)professional(s) who mostly operate from traditional research laboratories. Further, the general notion that DIY will challenge the existing traditional research laboratory through the provision of alternative sources of science, technology, and innovation (STI) research is not fully backed by scientific and empirical evidence. The study contributes to STI literature by broadening our understanding of DIY laboratories movement trends, literature gaps and sets future research agender.