Projects / Programmes
Social mechanisms for establishing and maintaining of scientific collaboration
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.03.00 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S210 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
Scientific collaboration, bibliometrics, network analysis, co-authorship networks, network of institutions in EU FP, micro and macro factors, tERGM
Researchers (9)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Researcher collaboration is one of the fundamental principles of modern science. The collective nature of the research work in modern science represents the driving mechanism of contemporary scientific advancement. It is a complex phenomenon, which is studied at the level of individual researchers, research institutions and national or global networks. In the proposed project we will investigate which are the factors that influence short-term collaborations and which are those that influence long-term, in-depth collaboration at various levels.
PROBLEM DEFINITION: The study of different types of scientific collaboration, both of co-authorship networks (as an expression of the internal cognitive developmental needs of science), and of those emerging from inter-institutional collaboration projects (mosty dictated by external political and other strategic frameworks and objectives), will enable new insights into the dynamics and structure of mechanisms for establishing or for maintaining scientific collaborations. The factors that lead to the establishment or maintenance of ties in co-authorship and inter-institutional networks will be studied at the micro and the macro level. The macro factors refer to economic, political, geographical and other conditions, and the micro factors to the expectations of scientists and institutions about direct or indirect benefits that cooperation can bring.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to explore the macro and micro factors and mechanisms for establishing or maintaining scientific collaboration in two contexts: the context of co-authorship collaborations among Slovenian researchers and the context of inter-institutional collaborations in the implementation of projects on sustainable development funded by the EU Framework Programmes (EU FP). By combining the theoretical knowledge on macro and micro factors and the empirical study of co-authorship and inter-institutional project networks, we aim to identify those mechanisms and factors that are common in both contexts, as well as those specific to each context. Such a differentiation will, inter alia, enable the identification and evaluation of measures that are the most effective for promoting collaboration at the level of individual researchers in Slovenia, as well as at the level of institutions from various countries that operate in the environment of the European project collaboration.
METHODS: Quantitative and qualitative methodologies will be used. Co-authorship networks at the individual level will be generated based on the COBISS bibliographic database, at the institutional level based on the CORDIS database (EU FP). The focus groups, in-depth interviews and a web survey will serve to collect additional information on the factors influencing the establishment and duration of collaboration on both levels. The analysis and visualization of co-authorship networks in time will be conducted with methods, implemented in the PAJEK programme. The network dynamics will be analyzed with models implemented in the tERGM package of the Statnet programme.
RELEVANCE AND IMPACT: This is an innovative interdisciplinary study. The results will make an important contribution to understanding the dynamics of scientific collaboration and the trends of different origins that drive the modern system of science. In addition to contributing to basic science, it has also applicative value: the results can form a basis for the formulation of strategies and measures within Slovenian research policy.
ORGANISATION AND FEASIBILITY: Data on collaboration networks will be obtained in collaboration with a partner organization from existing databases, thus a strong emphasis will be on qualitative data collection and the development and application of appropriate methods and models. For latter case we have formed a partnership with the company EKTIMO.
Significance for science
The study of the science system enables us to gain insights into the functioning of the broader socio-organizational system in which scientists operate, while simultaneously improving and increasing knowledge in various scientific fields that investigate the issues related to scientific collaboration and scientific networks. On the one hand, this enables researchers and institutions to operate more efficiently and successfully in an established scientific system, based on findings that are substantiated by research. On the other, it can also enable RD policymakers to use these results to lay down clearer strategies and define suitable policies and directives with which the whole scientific system can be directed towards the set goals.
The development of the methodology and the implementation of existing methods and models, which will take place in the scope of the proposed project, belong to the very peak of global scientometric research. Stochastic approaches to network analysis with the development of different forms of network modeling in the context of the exponential random graphs (ERGM) family, are among the state of the art approaches for social network analysis, also in terms of introducing a time dimension (tERGM). Such approaches have been only rarely used until now, and certainly not for the study of the mechanisms for establishing and for maintaining scientific ties, which are the subject of our research in the proposed project.
The national and international collaboration of researchers and institutions at various levels will very important in the proposed project. Based on the positive experiences of the participating researchers in past projects, we will also extensively collaborate with developmental leaders of the used methodology that work at the University of California - Irvine (C.T. Butts) and the University of Wollongong (P. Krivitsky). Regarding the data sources that we will use for the analysis in the proposed project, we will continue to collaborate with the national Institute of Information Science - IZUM with the aim of preparing the data on the personal bibliographies of Slovenian researchers, and with the University of Essex (P. Lucas), with which we are preparing a database for inter-institutional scientific collaboration in projects within the EU FP. In the domestic environment, our proposed participating organization EKTIMO comes from the entrepreneurial sphere.
The dissemination of research results also constitutes an important element for the creation of scientific habitus. The presentation of the results of the proposed project will take place already during the study through the project website, the participating researchers will present their findings at national and international scientific conferences, at the Wednesday Seminar at the IMFM and, of course, with international publications in journals in the fields of social network analysis, scientometrics, sociology of science, and related fields.
Significance for the country
The results of the proposed research are relevant for all actors in the R&D policy fields in Slovenia, i.e. government ministries, agencies, etc. Our insights will present a good basis for decision-making in all R&D policy fields, particularly in the following respects:
1. By continuing our quantitative and qualitative analyses of scientific collaboration, we will provide an adequate basis for gaining comprehensive knowledge of the scientific community of Slovenia as a small country. Insights regarding the internal socio-organizational aspects of the scientific community, which go beyond the traditional "black box" models, are a key condition for the successful management of good R&D policy. The proposed project will be able to provide such knowledge through the use of quantitative and qualitative research of scientific collaboration. New knowledge about the mechanisms and factors that promote the establishment and the maintenance of scientific collaboration can make an important contribution to the creation of a new model for the management of R&D policy, which is nowadays being promoted by the European Commission through the framework of the Strategy of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) (von Schomberg, 2012). Our study, focused on the optimal structures of scientific collaboration in national and international frameworks, can contribute significantly to these RRI objectives.
2. Our focus on the study of complex stochastic models, which aim to reveal the dynamics of scientific collaborations through time and to find what influences the establishment and the maintenance of scientific ties, will provide results that will enable the key actors of the R&D policy in Slovenia to strengthen the anticipative and prognostic function of their tasks. A crucial aspect of suitable modern R&D policy management is its ability to predict in which areas of research and development it is expected major near- or mid-term breakthroughs, and what factors contribute to this.
3. Our bibliometric and qualitative analyses of good collaboration practices in the framework of European research projects will provide insights into options for improving international collaboration and integration of Slovenian research institutions. It is important that the decision-makers within the framework of the Slovenian R&D policy are familiar with good practices from outside the national borders. Namely, the idea of ??a common European Research Area is based precisely on the premise of spreading good practices. By presenting good practices related to the EU FP, we will provide starting points for a more thorough deliberation concerning Slovenian politics, the economy and society in general on how to better promote the processes of internationalization and international collaboration in Slovenian science.
4. The company EKTIMO will integrate the new models and tools for network analysis in time, which will be developed and upgraded over the course of the proposed project.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
