Collaboration and distances between German immunological institutes
Author Information
Author(s): Frank Havemann, Michael Heinz, Hildrun Kretschmer
Primary Institution: Humboldt University Berlin
Hypothesis
Distance matters but in recent years geographical proximity has become less important for research collaboration.
Conclusion
The Internet did not change much the collaboration patterns between German immunological institutes.
Supporting Evidence
- Collaboration links are preferred at shorter distances.
- Geographical proximity has become less important for collaboration over time.
- International collaboration increased from 28% to 38% between 1992 and 2002.
Takeaway
Researchers are willing to collaborate with others even if they are far away, especially if they can't find partners in their own town.
Methodology
Analyzed co-authorship links and distances between German immunological institutes using data from the Science Citation Index.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the exclusion of institutes without papers in the analysis.
Limitations
The study did not analyze the impact of East-West division of German institutes on collaboration.
Participant Demographics
Authors from 80 German immunological institutes.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.01
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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