This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (30) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lee, S. Articles by Bozeman, B. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Impact of Research Collaboration on Scientific Productivity

School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology, sooho.lee{at}pubpolicy.gatech.edu

Barry Bozeman

School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, barry.bozeman{at}pubpolicy.gatech.edu

Based on the curricula vitae and survey responses of 443 academic scientists affiliated with university research centers in the USA, we examine the longstanding assumption that research collaboration has a positive effect on publishing productivity. Since characteristics of the individual and the work environment are endogenously related to both collaboration and productivity, this study focuses on the mediating effect of collaboration on publishing productivity. By using the two-stage least squares analysis, the findings indicate that in the presence of moderating variables such as age, rank, grant, gender, marital status, family relations, citizenship, job satisfaction, perceived discrimination, and collaboration strategy, the simple number (‘normal count’) of peer-reviewed journal papers is strongly and significantly associated with the number of collaborators. However, the net impacts of collaboration are less clear. When we apply the same model and examine productivity by ‘fractional count’, dividing the number of publications by the number of authors, we find that number of collaborators is not a significant predictor of publishing productivity. In both cases, ‘normal count’ and ‘fractional count’, we find significant effects of research grants, citizenship, collaboration strategy, and scientific field. We believe that it is important to understand the effects of the individual and environmental factors for developing effective strategies to exploit the potential benefits of collaboration. We note that our focus is entirely at the individual level, and some of the most important benefits of collaboration may accrue to groups, institutions, and scientific fields.

Key Words: normal and fractional publication counts • research collaboration • scientific productivity

Social Studies of Science, Vol. 35, No. 5, 673-702 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312705052359


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Sundberg Mobilizing Networks: Researcher Roles in Atmospheric Science Acta Sociologica, September 1, 2007; 50(3): 271 - 282. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. R. Penuel, W. Sussex, C. Korbak, and C. Hoadley Investigating the Potential of Using Social Network Analysis in Educational Evaluation American Journal of Evaluation, December 1, 2006; 27(4): 437 - 451. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. B. Duque, M. Ynalvez, R. Sooryamoorthy, P. Mbatia, D.-B. S. Dzorgbo, and W. Shrum Collaboration Paradox: Scientific Productivity, the Internet, and Problems of Research in Developing Areas Social Studies of Science, October 1, 2005; 35(5): 755 - 785. [Abstract] [PDF]