STUDY: Ten Myths of Scientific Collaboration

From this book, here are 10 myths of scientific collaboration...

Big Myths...

• ICTs improve collaboration
  
• Larger collaborations are more rigid & hierarchical (No -- on matters pertaining to the generation of scientific research, they are not. Size is less significant than we suspected.)
  
• Outcomes of a collaboration determine success.
  
• Collaborations are based on Trust. (Trust has no influence on outcomes.)
  

Other Myths...

• Co-authorship tells us important things about collaboration
  
• We can learn from high energy physics. (Not typical - Physics is only typical of high-energy physics. Not a model.)
  
• Collaboration is a necessity
  
• Collaborations are formed by people who know each other.
  
• Collaborations benefit everyone (e.g., Matthew effect).
  
• Benefits of collaboration are greater than the costs. (Believe it -- but it isn’t true.)
  

BOOK: Structures of Scientific Collaboration

"Collaboration among organizations is rapidly becoming common in scientific research as globalization and new communication technologies make it possible for researchers from different locations and institutions to work together on common projects. These scientific and technological collaborations are part of a general trend toward more fluid, flexible, and temporary organizational arrangements, but they have received very limited scholarly attention..." more»

The authors find that collaborative research depends on both technology and bureaucracy; scientists claim to abhor bureaucracy, but most collaborations use it constructively to achieve their goals. The book analyzes the structural elements of collaboration (among them formation, size and duration, organization, technological practices, and participant experiences) and the relationships among them. The authors find that trust, though viewed as positive, is not necessarily associated with successful projects; indeed, the formal structures of bureaucracy reduce the need for high levels of trust--and make possible the independence so valued by participating scientists.