Research collaboration in the social sciences: What factors are associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration?

Attention is increasingly directed toward better understanding the factors driving collaborations among researchers, particularly between researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds. This study investigates factors associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary research collaboration in...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Woolley, Richard, Sánchez Barrioluengo, Mabel, Turpin, Tim, Marceau, Jane
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/132061
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/132061
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Social sciences
Interdisciplinarity
Research collaboration
Descripción
Sumario:Attention is increasingly directed toward better understanding the factors driving collaborations among researchers, particularly between researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds. This study investigates factors associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary research collaboration in the social sciences. We utilize data from a survey of Australian-based social scientists. Interdisciplinary collaboration constitutes a considerable proportion of social scientists' collaboration activity. Factors linked to the duration and diversity of research careers are positively associated with participation in collaborations. Job experience in Australian and foreign universities also boosts total collaboration, while holding an international citizenship increases interdisciplinary collaboration. Interdisciplinary collaborations are also associated with researcher orientation toward applied research activity. Investment in social science research is important for maintaining existing interdisciplinary and applied collaborations, although better information on these collaborations is desirable. Measures to expand such collaborations should take career stage into account. Broad-based population policies may also be an important underlying factor supporting international collaboration.