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Collaboration Paradox

Scientific Productivity, the Internet, and Problems of Research in Developing Areas

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, rduque1{at}lsu.edu

Marcus Ynalvez

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, mynalv1{at}lsu.edu

R. Sooryamoorthy

University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, sooryamoorthyr{at}ukzn.ac.za

Paul Mbatia

Department of Sociology, University of Nairobi, Kenya, pmbatia2002{at}yahoo.com

Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo

University of Ghana, Legon, ddzorgbo{at}yahoo.co.uk

Wesley Shrum

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Society for Social Studies of Science, shrum{at}lsu.edu

We examine the ways in which the research process differs in developed and developing areas by focusing on two questions. First, is collaboration associated with productivity? Second, is access to the Internet (specifically use of email) associated with reduced problems of collaboration? Recent analyses by Lee & Bozeman (2005) and Walsh & Maloney (2003) suggest affirmative answers to these questions for US scientists. Based on a comparative analysis of scientists in Ghana, Kenya, and the State of Kerala in south-western India (N 918), we find that: (1) collaboration is not associated with any general increment in productivity; and (2) while access to email does attenuate research problems, such difficulties are structured more by national and regional context than by the collaborative process itself. The interpretation of these results suggests a paradox that raises issues for future studies: those conditions that unsettle the relationship between collaboration and productivity in developing areas may undermine the collaborative benefits of new information and communication technologies.

Key Words: Africa • development • email • India • Kerala • reagency • universities

Social Studies of Science, Vol. 35, No. 5, 755-785 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312705053048


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