Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 217-225 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of informetrics |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Feb 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Scientific collaboration is often perceived as a joint global process that involves researchers worldwide, regardless of their place of work and residence. Globalization of science, in this respect, implies that collaboration among scientists takes place along the lines of common topics and irrespective of the spatial distances between the collaborators. The networks of collaborators, termed 'epistemic communities', should thus have a space-independent structure. This paper shows that such a notion of globalized scientific collaboration is not supported by empirical data. It introduces a novel approach of analyzing distance-dependent probabilities of collaboration. The results of the analysis of six distinct scientific fields reveal that intra-country collaboration is about 10-50 times more likely to occur than international collaboration. Moreover, strong dependencies exist between collaboration activity (measured in co-authorships) and spatial distance when confined to national borders. However, the fact that distance becomes irrelevant once collaboration is taken to the international scale suggests a globalized science system that is strongly influenced by the gravity of local science clusters. The similarity of the probability functions of the six science fields analyzed suggests a universal mode of spatial governance that is independent from the mode of knowledge creation in science.
Keywords
- Distance-dependence, Epistemic community, Geography, Global science network, Network analysis, Spatial scientometrics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science(all)
- Computer Science Applications
- Social Sciences(all)
- Library and Information Sciences
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In: Journal of informetrics, Vol. 6, No. 2, 16.02.2012, p. 217-225.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The myth of global science collaboration-Collaboration patterns in epistemic communities
AU - Hennemann, Stefan
AU - Rybski, Diego
AU - Liefner, Ingo
PY - 2012/2/16
Y1 - 2012/2/16
N2 - Scientific collaboration is often perceived as a joint global process that involves researchers worldwide, regardless of their place of work and residence. Globalization of science, in this respect, implies that collaboration among scientists takes place along the lines of common topics and irrespective of the spatial distances between the collaborators. The networks of collaborators, termed 'epistemic communities', should thus have a space-independent structure. This paper shows that such a notion of globalized scientific collaboration is not supported by empirical data. It introduces a novel approach of analyzing distance-dependent probabilities of collaboration. The results of the analysis of six distinct scientific fields reveal that intra-country collaboration is about 10-50 times more likely to occur than international collaboration. Moreover, strong dependencies exist between collaboration activity (measured in co-authorships) and spatial distance when confined to national borders. However, the fact that distance becomes irrelevant once collaboration is taken to the international scale suggests a globalized science system that is strongly influenced by the gravity of local science clusters. The similarity of the probability functions of the six science fields analyzed suggests a universal mode of spatial governance that is independent from the mode of knowledge creation in science.
AB - Scientific collaboration is often perceived as a joint global process that involves researchers worldwide, regardless of their place of work and residence. Globalization of science, in this respect, implies that collaboration among scientists takes place along the lines of common topics and irrespective of the spatial distances between the collaborators. The networks of collaborators, termed 'epistemic communities', should thus have a space-independent structure. This paper shows that such a notion of globalized scientific collaboration is not supported by empirical data. It introduces a novel approach of analyzing distance-dependent probabilities of collaboration. The results of the analysis of six distinct scientific fields reveal that intra-country collaboration is about 10-50 times more likely to occur than international collaboration. Moreover, strong dependencies exist between collaboration activity (measured in co-authorships) and spatial distance when confined to national borders. However, the fact that distance becomes irrelevant once collaboration is taken to the international scale suggests a globalized science system that is strongly influenced by the gravity of local science clusters. The similarity of the probability functions of the six science fields analyzed suggests a universal mode of spatial governance that is independent from the mode of knowledge creation in science.
KW - Distance-dependence
KW - Epistemic community
KW - Geography
KW - Global science network
KW - Network analysis
KW - Spatial scientometrics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857016673&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1110.2980
DO - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1110.2980
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84857016673
VL - 6
SP - 217
EP - 225
JO - Journal of informetrics
JF - Journal of informetrics
SN - 1751-1577
IS - 2
ER -