The Perspective of Women Managing Research Teams in Social Sciences

Abstract

This article presents a research study that focuses on how women manage research teams. More specifically, the study aims to ascertain the perception of female researchers who are leaders of research groups in social sciences with regard to the formation, operation and management of their research teams. Fifteen interviews were carried out, eight at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and seven at the Universidad de Barcelona, representing one quarter of women responsible for research teams in the field of social sciences. Findings suggest that female researchers seek to build highly cohesive teams that engender a good working atmosphere and good interpersonal relationships, with the capacity to generate high academic and scientific performance closely linked to other international groups.Keywords: gender, women, research teams, university University Research in Social SciencesAnalysing university research involves considering a set of variables, which include research policies, structures, individual or group character, equal treatment of several distinct areas of knowledge, funding, evaluation of research activity, etc.With regard to the variable relating to structure, Rey, Martín and Sebastián (2008) define different approaches to conducting research at universities. Through their analysis of sociability in research and its productivity, they identify three levels of organisation: macro, which is research conducted by public and private institutions, i.e., more or less specialised entities which supply their own regulations and organisational framework to support research (for example, universities); a meso level, such as that found, for example, at institutes and research centres; and a micro level, where we find research teams. Our focus is on the last of these, although we acknowledge that micro-level research is also influenced by activity at the meso and macro levels.As a reference for our analysis, it is important to highlight what are called consolidated research teams (SGR), which are reference points for the system of scientific organisation in Catalonia. These groups facilitate collective and interdisciplinary scientific work, as well as the integration of junior researchers, the acquisition and optimised use of funds, etc. Being part of a highly productive group -for example in which the number of authors working on papers is often quite high -increases the chance of receiving subsequent citations. Fewer and fewer researchers are tending to go into individualised lines of study, while at the same time there is a growing trend towards developing research within research teams.Turning now to the variable relating to the individual, it is important to emphasise that research is one of the core tasks expected of academic staff at universities. This task demands a specific set of skills -which we do not intend to list exhaustively here -for which university teachers undergo specific training, terminating with a doctorate (PhD).With regard to the variable relating to the areas of knowledge, Del...