The different flavors of research collaboration: a case study of their influence on university excellence in four world regions

Abstract

This study on research collaboration (RC) is an attempt to estimate the degree of internationalization of academic institutions and regions. Furthermore potential influences of RC on excellence initiatives of modern universities are investigated relying on source data obtained from SCImago Institutions Rankings. A positive correlation exists between the degree of collaboration and the normalized impact. However, in contrast to output the normalized impact increase progression is non-linear and fluctuating. Differences occur regarding output volume and normalized impact at geographical region level for the leading universities. Different patterns of the Brute force distribution for each collaboration type were also observed at region level as well as at subject area level. A continuously reduced percentage of the domestic (non-collaboration) academic output is a world trend, whereas a steady increase of ''international ? national'' collaboration is observed globally, however, less distinctive in Asia than in the other regions. The impact of Latin American papers originating from domestic production as well as from national collaboration remains considerably below world average values.

Coauthorship of journal articles and book chapters in the social sciences and humanities (2000–2010)

“…Scientific collaboration through coauthorship is internationally on the rise, even though important differences between disciplines remain (Benavent‐Pérez, Gorraiz, & Gumpenberger, ; Glänzel & Schubert, ; Kyvik, ; Newman, ; Piro, Aksnes, & Rorstad, ; Wagner & Leydesdorff, ). For the SSH, which have adhered more than the sciences to single‐author publications, similar trends have been demonstrated, albeit tentatively (Endersby, ).…”

Research output on Lavender, 2008–2012

“…Dominance of national collaboration has been demonstrated in the field of Psychology [32] while international collaboration has been found dominant in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology research in China [27], Obstructive Sleep apnea [30], microRNA research [33], Physical [34] and Dental Science research in India [36], Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research in Pakistan [35], and in a no. of other studies [37,[48][49][50][51].…”

“…The G7 countries are considered the wealthiest developed nations in the world [52] which could explain why many publishers are based in these countries. Orientation of scientists towards collaborative rather than individualistic research has been highlighted in a number of studies [27,30,31,37,46,47,50,53,54]. Institutional collaboration is preferred over national and international collaboration.…”

Nemo Solus Satis Sapit: Trends of Research Collaborations in the Vietnamese Social Sciences, Observing 2008–2017 Scopus Data

“…In fact, working with overseas authors not only boosted the quality of research and the volume of output, it also enhanced a scientist's reputation [24]. For many developing countries, such as Latin American nations, for example, domestic production has much lower impacts than the world average, which urges scientists to seek overseas collaborations [21]. Vietnam was not an exception from this logic.…”