defining collaborative research
It is difficult to define collaborative research because it can take on a wide variety of forms. On one extreme, anyone who offers advice about a particular research project could be a "collaborator." In this case, the entire international research community is one big collaboration that works together to advance scientific knowledge. On the other extreme, only researchers that are involved in all main research tasks could be considered "collaborators." Using this definition, in a highly interdisciplinary project where each researcher is delegated a small part of the whole project, no researcher would satisfy the criteria of a "collaborator."
Collaborative research thus takes on a meaning that is somewhere in between these two extremes. It can be defined as including projects where researchers work together throughout a large part of the duration of a project, or who make a substantial contribution. Collaborators can include people who are responsible for a main part of the research. A study published in Research Policy provides further analysis into the definition of collaborative research.
Collaborative research thus takes on a meaning that is somewhere in between these two extremes. It can be defined as including projects where researchers work together throughout a large part of the duration of a project, or who make a substantial contribution. Collaborators can include people who are responsible for a main part of the research. A study published in Research Policy provides further analysis into the definition of collaborative research.
Types of collaborative research
According to a study published in Medical Education, collaborative research can be classified in three ways:
Institutional Context
Research can be represented by the number of administrative units involved. A simple group involves multiple researchers from the same administrative unit. A simple group could be a collaboration among Rice researchers. A complex group involves multiple researchers from different administrative units. The collaboration between Rice and Baylor represents a complex group. A multi-sector group involves researchers from multiple sectors, which can include government, industry, and community.
Number of Academic Fields
Research can be homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous collaboration involves researchers from a single discipline working together to solve a problem. This is considered unidisciplinary research. Heterogeneous collaboration involves researchers from multiple disciplines working together to solve a problem.
Disciplinarity
Heterogeneous research can be multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. Unidisciplinary research can be considered collaborative if occurs between multiple administrative units. Multidisciplinary research occurs when researchers from different disciplines work separately in their own discipline to solve a joint problem. Interdisciplinary research occurs when researchers work together to solve a problem but still focus on their own disciplines. Transdisciplinary research occurs when researchers work together using a shared conceptual framework.
Institutional Context
Research can be represented by the number of administrative units involved. A simple group involves multiple researchers from the same administrative unit. A simple group could be a collaboration among Rice researchers. A complex group involves multiple researchers from different administrative units. The collaboration between Rice and Baylor represents a complex group. A multi-sector group involves researchers from multiple sectors, which can include government, industry, and community.
Number of Academic Fields
Research can be homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous collaboration involves researchers from a single discipline working together to solve a problem. This is considered unidisciplinary research. Heterogeneous collaboration involves researchers from multiple disciplines working together to solve a problem.
Disciplinarity
Heterogeneous research can be multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. Unidisciplinary research can be considered collaborative if occurs between multiple administrative units. Multidisciplinary research occurs when researchers from different disciplines work separately in their own discipline to solve a joint problem. Interdisciplinary research occurs when researchers work together to solve a problem but still focus on their own disciplines. Transdisciplinary research occurs when researchers work together using a shared conceptual framework.
trend toward collaborative research
As seen by the developing connections between Rice University and the Texas Medical Center since the historic Rice-Baylor collaboration, there has been a national trend toward collaboration in research. While collaboration has always been important in conducting research, the nature of collaboration is evolving from being intra-group/department/discipline/institution to being inter-group/department/discipline/institution and even beyond, through collaborations between academia and industry, community, and government.
"This type of interdisciplinary/multi-contextual collaboration has stoked the pace of research and encouraged the development of innovative and groundbreaking strategies in investigating increasingly novel, complex and convoluted areas." -Office of research integrity
There are several reasons why collaboration has been growing over the last 50 years.
Increasing Cost of Conducting Fundamental Science at the Research Frontier
The costs for maintaining research facilities has increased with the introduction of more complex technology that is used in experimentation. As a result, funding agencies cannot provide research facilities to every research group in a particular field and have had to pool resources at the regional, national, or even international level, forcing researches to collaborate more closely.
Decreasing Cost of Travel and Communication
Beginning in the 1950s-60s, the costs of travel have decreased appreciably, which is reflected by a trend toward collaboration. Through advances in technology, scientists can easily communicate their findings. They can access online databases that offer up-to-date information and opportunities to review past publications.
Increasing Need for Specialization
As scientific knowledge advances, there is an increasing need for specialization in scientific disciplines. The large amount of available knowledge inevitably results in researchers who have more knowledge depth than breadth. As a result, many complex experiments require the collaboration of multiple researchers, each with a unique task or skill.
Growing Importance of Interdisciplinary Fields
Emerging fields like biotechnology and biomaterials extend among several disciplines. Since very few individuals have knowledge of all the necessary skills, these fields force scientists from different disciplines to collaborate. Federal funding sources such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation recognize the value of interdisciplinary research and now provide support for projects requiring the collaboration of researchers in different disciplines. As a result, research groups containing member of various disciplines now have more opportunities for obtaining research funding.
Increasing Cost of Conducting Fundamental Science at the Research Frontier
The costs for maintaining research facilities has increased with the introduction of more complex technology that is used in experimentation. As a result, funding agencies cannot provide research facilities to every research group in a particular field and have had to pool resources at the regional, national, or even international level, forcing researches to collaborate more closely.
Decreasing Cost of Travel and Communication
Beginning in the 1950s-60s, the costs of travel have decreased appreciably, which is reflected by a trend toward collaboration. Through advances in technology, scientists can easily communicate their findings. They can access online databases that offer up-to-date information and opportunities to review past publications.
Increasing Need for Specialization
As scientific knowledge advances, there is an increasing need for specialization in scientific disciplines. The large amount of available knowledge inevitably results in researchers who have more knowledge depth than breadth. As a result, many complex experiments require the collaboration of multiple researchers, each with a unique task or skill.
Growing Importance of Interdisciplinary Fields
Emerging fields like biotechnology and biomaterials extend among several disciplines. Since very few individuals have knowledge of all the necessary skills, these fields force scientists from different disciplines to collaborate. Federal funding sources such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation recognize the value of interdisciplinary research and now provide support for projects requiring the collaboration of researchers in different disciplines. As a result, research groups containing member of various disciplines now have more opportunities for obtaining research funding.
the pros and cons of collaborative research
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