Collaboration in a Distributed Research Program: Islands of Intensity in a Sea of Minimal Interaction
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Collaboration in a Distributed Research Program: Islands of Intensity in a Sea of Minimal Interaction. / Haman, Magdalena; Hertzum, Morten.
In: Journal of Documentation, Vol. 75, No. 2, 2019, p. 334-348.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Collaboration in a Distributed Research Program: Islands of Intensity in a Sea of Minimal Interaction
AU - Haman, Magdalena
AU - Hertzum, Morten
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Purpose – Researchers need to collaborate to address grand challenges such as climate change, poverty, and sustainable food production. We investigate how the researchers in a globally distributed research program interact to move their research forward.Design/methodology/approach – We interviewed 14 participants in the research program.Findings – In spite of the spatial distribution of the researchers the output from the research program is predominantly collaborative; as much as 79% of the publications are co-authored by researchers from multiple countries. However, the researchers mostly work alone on their contributions to their joint work and spend minimal time interacting. This strategy of minimal interaction is punctuated by islands of intense interaction when they occasionally meet in person. Interaction feels natural, productive, and satisfying to them when they are co-located but less so when they are distributed, probably because they experience technology-mediated interaction over a distance as somewhat impoverished. The interviewees mention that the minimal-interaction strategy incurs the risks of cracks in common ground and of misconstruing minimal interaction as lack of commitment. But the strategy is generally well-liked.Research limitations/implications – The experience of technology-mediated interaction as impoverished points to an explanation for the finding of less interaction in distributed than co-located research. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one research program.Originality/value – By questioning widely touted recommendations for ongoing, regular, and sustained interaction this study provides a fresh look at scientific collaboration.
AB - Purpose – Researchers need to collaborate to address grand challenges such as climate change, poverty, and sustainable food production. We investigate how the researchers in a globally distributed research program interact to move their research forward.Design/methodology/approach – We interviewed 14 participants in the research program.Findings – In spite of the spatial distribution of the researchers the output from the research program is predominantly collaborative; as much as 79% of the publications are co-authored by researchers from multiple countries. However, the researchers mostly work alone on their contributions to their joint work and spend minimal time interacting. This strategy of minimal interaction is punctuated by islands of intense interaction when they occasionally meet in person. Interaction feels natural, productive, and satisfying to them when they are co-located but less so when they are distributed, probably because they experience technology-mediated interaction over a distance as somewhat impoverished. The interviewees mention that the minimal-interaction strategy incurs the risks of cracks in common ground and of misconstruing minimal interaction as lack of commitment. But the strategy is generally well-liked.Research limitations/implications – The experience of technology-mediated interaction as impoverished points to an explanation for the finding of less interaction in distributed than co-located research. It should be noted that the study is restricted to one research program.Originality/value – By questioning widely touted recommendations for ongoing, regular, and sustained interaction this study provides a fresh look at scientific collaboration.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Scientific collaboration
KW - Global research
KW - Team science
KW - Distributed work
KW - Minimal interaction
U2 - 10.1108/JD-05-2018-0078
DO - 10.1108/JD-05-2018-0078
M3 - Journal article
VL - 75
SP - 334
EP - 348
JO - Journal of Documentation
JF - Journal of Documentation
SN - 0022-0418
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 204352381