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Collaboration in the time of COVID: a scientometric analysis of multidisciplinary SARS-CoV-2 research

Author

Listed:
  • Eoghan Cunningham

    (University College
    University College)

  • Barry Smyth

    (University College
    University College)

  • Derek Greene

    (University College
    University College)

Abstract

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 illness it causes have inspired unprecedented levels of multidisciplinary research in an effort to address a generational public health challenge. In this work we conduct a scientometric analysis of COVID-19 research, paying particular attention to the nature of collaboration that this pandemic has fostered among different disciplines. Increased multidisciplinary collaboration has been shown to produce greater scientific impact, albeit with higher co-ordination costs. As such, we consider a collection of over 166,000 COVID-19-related articles to assess the scale and diversity of collaboration in COVID-19 research, which we compare to non-COVID-19 controls before and during the pandemic. We show that COVID-19 research teams are not only significantly smaller than their non-COVID-19 counterparts, but they are also more diverse. Furthermore, we find that COVID-19 research has increased the multidisciplinarity of authors across most scientific fields of study, indicating that COVID-19 has helped to remove some of the barriers that usually exist between disparate disciplines. Finally, we highlight a number of interesting areas of multidisciplinary research during COVID-19, and propose methodologies for visualising the nature of multidisciplinary collaboration, which may have application beyond this pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Eoghan Cunningham & Barry Smyth & Derek Greene, 2021. "Collaboration in the time of COVID: a scientometric analysis of multidisciplinary SARS-CoV-2 research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:8:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-021-00922-7
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-021-00922-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mason Youngblood & David Lahti, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Keisuke Okamura, 2019. "Interdisciplinarity revisited: evidence for research impact and dynamism," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. X. Cai & C. V. Fry & C. S. Wagner, 2021. "International collaboration during the COVID-19 crisis: autumn 2020 developments," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3683-3692, April.
    4. Lingfei Wu & Dashun Wang & James A. Evans, 2019. "Large teams develop and small teams disrupt science and technology," Nature, Nature, vol. 566(7744), pages 378-382, February.
    5. Mason Youngblood & David Lahti, 2018. "Correction: A bibliometric analysis of the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-2, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rubini, Lauretta & Pollio, Chiara & Barbieri, Elisa & Cattaruzzo, Sebastiano, 2024. "Changing structures in transnational research networks: An analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on China's scientific collaborations," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 281-297.
    2. Danilo Silva Carvalho & Lucas Lopes Felipe & Priscila Costa Albuquerque & Fabio Zicker & Bruna de Paula Fonseca, 2023. "Leadership and international collaboration on COVID-19 research: reducing the North–South divide?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(8), pages 4689-4705, August.
    3. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D’Angelo & Flavia Costa, 2022. "How the Covid-19 crisis shaped research collaboration behaviour," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 5053-5071, August.

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