editorial
Bandwagons and Advice
A
bandwagon is a wagon which carries the band in a parade. Because it’s the first, or the loudest, being on the bandwagon is a way to attract attention. “Jumping on the bandwagon” is a phrase with origins in political campaigns. It is also a phenomenon among scientistsOincluding chemists. In scientific terms, a “bandwagon” is a new methodology or clever chemical tactic or instrument that is created by one or several research scholars that catches the scientific attention of a wider band of scholars. This notice may occur rather quickly (less than a year) or may lay quiescent for a number of years until the realization dawns that a good scientific research opportunity has appeared. I have always felt that an apt label for the new topic can influence the speed of promulgation. As time passes and the literature proliferates, the original label can become forgotten or be supplanted by a more apt or memorable label, or a new label for a significant improvement of the original creative invention can be applied. Like a pebble dropped into a pond, multiple waves of interest may be serially awakened with ensuing waves of publications. Have I just simply described how science often develops, i.e., in a very nonlinear fashion? Bursts of progress, sometimes with periods of quiescence, are indeed a characteristic of how knowledge grows in analytical chemistry or any other scientific specialty. The bandwagon effect is simply a more noticeable burst, accompanied by a surge of publications on the subject as interest in the topic spreads to multiple laboratories (many people jumping onto the wagon). What are characteristics of bandwagons in analytical chemistry? Bandwagons seldom occur when developing a major instrument is required or the chemicals used must be synthesized. They are most likely when the essential elements (chemicals, equipment) of the new experiment are readily ac-
10.1021/AC103190J 2011 AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Published on Web 12/10/2010
cessible or become so when an observant vendor begins to market them. Secondary bursts of research activity may on occasion be triggered by a significant infusion of government support for research on the topic. Many research bandwagons have a relatively modest lifetime; interest and research activity rise and then gradually subside. Others have major staying power and become part of the fabric of the field and find their way into textbooks. Let me cite two examples. One was chemically modified electrodes; this wagon started rolling around 1980. Now, a large fraction of analytical uses of electrodes involve electrodes that are chemically tailored in some way. Electrospray MS is another example; commercial development of instruments with ESI ion sources played an essential role. The electrospray ionization of thermally tender molecular and biomolecular species played a role in the revitalization of the MS research community. Editors of journals tend to notice bandwagons because of surges in manuscript submissions. This is usually an exciting thing to notice and support; the discipline is on the move! On occasion however, the wagon has become so crowded that many submitted manuscripts offer only incremental bits of knowledge, and the rejection rate soars. A recent example is the reporting of solution color changes prompted by analyteinduced aggregation of nanoparticles. My advice to young scholars is “watch out for crowded bandwagons. It’s better if you can build your own.”
JANUARY 1, 2011 / ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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