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What factors are associated with increasing co-authorship in the social sciences? A case study of Danish Economics and Political Science

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  • Dorte Henriksen

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

The number of co-authors has in the social sciences has been rising over the last decades, but a deeper understanding of why this rise is occurring is lacking. Previous studies of co-authorship in the social sciences often refer to the physical or life sciences or anecdotal evidence to explain these changes. This article examines the relationship between changes in co-authorship and research in Danish Economics and Political Science to gain greater insights into whether there are changes in the research or in researchers’ behavior. The analysis shows that articles with empirical research, quantitative research and/or survey are more likely to have a higher number of coauthors than articles based on theoretical, interview, and qualitative research. Furthermore, international and interinstitutional Danish articles tend to have more coauthors than interinstitutional articles. The analysis also reveals that the average number of authors increases for articles with all types of research and research approaches. This indicates that the collaboration behavior of the researchers is changing.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorte Henriksen, 2018. "What factors are associated with increasing co-authorship in the social sciences? A case study of Danish Economics and Political Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 1395-1421, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:114:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-017-2635-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-017-2635-0
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