Relationships and tasks in scientific research collaborations

ABSTRACT

Most computer-based aids for researchers and other workers have had individuals rather than groups or teams as their beneficiaries. This is unfortunate, since much work in business, government, and academia is performed by groups of people. In this paper we examine research collaborations as a particularly informative example of group work and propose a model of research collaboration that should provide guidance to those developing technology to support collaborative work. The model is based on 50 semi-structured interviews with researchers in psychology, management science, and computer science. It focuses on the problems in forming and maintaining personal relationships and completing tasks that researchers must solve to have a successful collaboration. These problems occur when collaborators are initiating projects, executing them, and documenting results.

REFERENCES

• 1: A. F. Aucella , S. F. Ehrlich, Voice messaging enhancing the user interface design based on field performance, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.156-161, April 13-17, 1986, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 2: Bair, J.H. (1985). The Need for Collaboration Tools in Offices. Proceedings of the 1985 Office Automation Conference (AFIPS). Atlanta, Georgia. February, 1985. pp. 59--68.
• 3: Beaver, D. deB. & Rosen, R. (1978). Studies in scientific collaboration, Part I: The professional origins of scientific co-authorship. Scientometrics, 1, 65--84.
• 4: Beaver, D. deB. & Rosen, R. (1979). Studies in scientific collaboration, Part II: Scientific co-authorship, research productivity and visibility in the French scientific elite, 1799--1830. Scientometrics, 1, 133--149.
• 5: Crane, Diana (1965). Scientists at major and minor universities: A study of productivity and recognition. American Sociological Review, 30, 699--714.
• 6: Dawes, R.M. (1971). A case study of graduate admissions: Application of three principles of human decision making. American Psychologist, 26, 180--188.
• 7: Dawes, R.M. (1979). The robust beauty of improper linear models in decision making. American Psychologist, 34, 571--582.
• 8: Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Back, K. (1950). Social pressure in informal groups: A study of human factors in housing. New York: Harper & Row.
• 9: Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Reicken, H. (1956). When prophecy fails. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• 10: Heffner, A. G. (1981). Funded research, multiple authorship, and subauthorship collaboration in four disciplines. Scientometrics, 3 (1), 5--12.
• 11: Innes, J. M. (1980). Psychology of the scientist: XLV. Collaboration and productivity in social psychology. Psychological Reports, 47, 1331--1334.
• 12: Kerckhoff, (1974) The social context of interpersonal attraction. In T. Huston (ed.). Foundations of interpersonal attraction. NY; Appleton-Century-Crofts.
• 13: Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39, 1123--1134.
• 14: Krauss, R., Garlock, C., Bricker, P., & McMahon, L. (1977). The role of audible and visible back-channel responses in interpersonal communication. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 523--529.
• 15: Krauss, R., & Weinheimer, S. (1966). Concurrent feedback, confirmation, and the encoding of referents in verbal interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 342--346.
• 16: Kraut, R., Lewis, S., & Swezey, L. (1982). Listener responsiveness and the coordination of conversation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 718--731.
• 17: T. W. Malone , K. R. Grant , F. A. Turbak, The information lens: an intelligent system for information sharing in organizations, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, p.1-8, April 13-17, 1986, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 18: Mendenhall, M. Oddou, G. & Franck, L. (1984). The trend toward research collaboration in social psychological research. Journal of Social Psychology, 122, 101--103.
• 19: Over, R. (1982). Collaborative research and publication in psychology. American Psychologist, 37, 996--1001.
• 20: Sawyer, J. (1966). Measurement and prediction, clinical and statistical, ul Psychological Bulletin, 66, 178--200.
• 21: Sherif, M. (1935). A study of some social factors in perception. Archives of Psychology, 27. Whole no. 187.
• 22: Zuckerman, M., DePaulo, B, & Rosenthal, R. (1981) Verbal and nonverbal communication of deception. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.). Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 14. New York: Academic Press.