Team size matters: Collaboration and scientific impact since 1900

Abstract

This article provides the first historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration and scientific impact using three indicators of collaboration (number of authors, number of addresses, and number of countries) derived from articles published between 1900 and 2011. The results demonstrate that an increase in the number of authors leads to an increase in impact, from the beginning of the last century onward, and that this is not due simply to self‐citations. A similar trend is also observed for the number of addresses and number of countries represented in the byline of an article. However, the constant inflation of collaboration since 1900 has resulted in diminishing citation returns: Larger and more diverse (in terms of institutional and country affiliation) teams are necessary to realize higher impact. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential causes of the impact gain in citations of collaborative papers.

Science of science

“…Nowadays, a team-authored paper in science and engineering is 6.3 times more likely to receive 1000 citations or more than a solo-authored paper, a difference that cannot be explained by self-citations (50, 52). One possible reason is a team's ability to come up with more novel combinations of ideas (26) or to produce resources that are later used by others (e.g., genomics).…”

Travel bans and scientific mobility: utility of asymmetry and affinity indexes to inform science policy

“…Such restrictions can potentially affect the dynamics of the global scientific system, which has experienced exponential growth of scientific connections over the last century (Larivière et al 2015). Collaboration in science highlighted increased partnerships between scientific advanced and emergent countries in terms of co-authoring scientific papers (Adams 2013), as well as at the global level (Wagner et al 2015).…”

Untitled

“…With achievements increasingly arising from teamwork, "collaboration" has acquired a vital role in organizational, educational, and research contexts (Larivière, Gingras, Sugimoto, & Tsou, 2014). In particular, research collaboration has received increased attention, with many leading institutions arguing that complex contemporary issues (such as health, environment, and mobility) require solutions that combine insights from different disciplines (National Academies, 2005; as cited in van Rijnsoever & Hessels, 2011).…”