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Academic Cross-Pollination: The Role of Disciplinary Affiliation in Research Collaboration

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  • Amar Dhand
  • Douglas A Luke
  • Bobbi J Carothers
  • Bradley A Evanoff

Abstract

Academic collaboration is critical to knowledge production, especially as teams dominate scientific endeavors. Typical predictors of collaboration include individual characteristics such as academic rank or institution, and network characteristics such as a central position in a publication network. The role of disciplinary affiliation in the initiation of an academic collaboration between two investigators deserves more attention. Here, we examine the influence of disciplinary patterns on collaboration formation with control of known predictors using an inferential network model. The study group included all researchers in the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) at Washington University in St. Louis. Longitudinal data were collected on co-authorships in grants and publications before and after ICTS establishment. Exponential-family random graph models were used to build the network models. The results show that disciplinary affiliation independently predicted collaboration in grant and publication networks, particularly in the later years. Overall collaboration increased in the post-ICTS networks, with cross-discipline ties occurring more often than within-discipline ties in grants, but not publications. This research may inform better evaluation models of university-based collaboration, and offer a roadmap to improve cross-disciplinary collaboration with discipline-informed network interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Amar Dhand & Douglas A Luke & Bobbi J Carothers & Bradley A Evanoff, 2016. "Academic Cross-Pollination: The Role of Disciplinary Affiliation in Research Collaboration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0145916
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145916
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rosenfield, Patricia L., 1992. "The potential of transdisciplinary research for sustaining and extending linkages between the health and social sciences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1343-1357, December.
    2. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D'Angelo & Flavia Di Costa, 2012. "Identifying interdisciplinarity through the disciplinary classification of coauthors of scientific publications," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(11), pages 2206-2222, November.
    3. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D'Angelo & Flavia Costa, 2012. "Identifying interdisciplinarity through the disciplinary classification of coauthors of scientific publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(11), pages 2206-2222, November.
    4. Jian Qin & F. W. Lancaster & Bryce Allen, 1997. "Types and levels of collaboration in interdisciplinary research in the sciences," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 48(10), pages 893-916, October.
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    2. Ducharme, Lori J. & Fujimoto, Kayo & Kuo, Jacky & Stewart, Jonathan & Taylor, Bruce & Schneider, John, 2024. "Collaboration and growth in a large research cooperative: A network analytic approach," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Hermans, Frans & Sartas, Murat & van Schagen, Boudy & van Asten, Piet & Schut, Marc, 2017. "Social network analysis of multi-stakeholder platforms in agricultural research for development: Opportunities and constraints for innovation and scaling," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21.

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