The presentation will be held online on Zoom on October 18th. It is based on a paper written in collaboration with François van Schalkwyk, Mayra M. Tirado, and Julia Melkers, and it will focus on the dynamics of scientific teams.

Nicolas Robinson, PI of COMPARE, is going to participate in the seminar organized by Harvard University: “Economics of Science & Engineering”. This seminar is an open panel where different researchers will address issues such as globalization, work networks, career incentives, and mobility between academia and industry. 

In our case, Nicolas’ talk is titled “Collaboration or Teamwork? Investigating Work Distribution in Science through Contribution Statements,” addressing a key issue in modern scientific research: the dynamics of scientific teams and work distribution. Here is the abstract:

Abstract

The growth of team science in recent years challenges conventional views of authorship and collaboration in scientific research. Most studies approach teams pragmatically, focusing on their observable characteristics—e.g., co-authorship, affiliations, or project-based—without relying on a formal, theoretically-grounded definition of what constitutes a team. This talk explores the dynamics of scientific teams through the lens of contributor roles, utilizing a dataset of over half a million papers that include detailed contribution statements. By analyzing how authors coordinate their work and the nature of their contributions, we aim to draw distinctions between loose groups of collaborators and more cohesive teams. We explore the relationships between team size, composition, and task distribution, considering factors such as gender, career length, and the interdisciplinarity of team members. The results offer a deeper understanding of how collaboration and team dynamics evolve across disciplines, potentially informing policies on research evaluation and academic recognition.

The seminar is scheduled for 9:00 a.m EDT (15:00 pm in Spain) on October 18th via Zoom. If you want to attend, please send an email to amadeoholl@gmail.com. The organization will send you the Zoom meeting link via email. Below this post we have summarized all the information you need to attend! 

Key information:

Títle: Collaboration or Teamwork? Investigating Work Distribution in Science through Contribution Statements Speaker: Nicolas Robinson-Garcia, Director of COMPARE. Date: 18 October 2024 Hour: 9 am EDT / 15:00 CEST Location: ZOOM Sign-up: amadeoholl@gmail.com