Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations

9311121 Warnow“大”科学现在已经达到了没有一个机构能够提供财政资源、人员或设备来承担研究项目的地步。在这些项目产生的出版物中，200名或更多的作者并不罕见。作者从许多不同的机构聚集在一起，以形成不同持续时间的临时合作。它们是如何运作的？他们如何沟通？项目中的高级领导如何对较低级的调查人员进行控制？如果我们要理解大科学是如何运作的，这些问题和许多其他问题都需要回答。在Warnow女士的指导下，AIP物理史中心完成了不同物理领域的多机构合作研究的三个阶段中的两个阶段。在先前的两笔拨款下，AIP集中研究了高能物理、空间科学和地球物理学方面的合作。根据这第三笔赠款，国际合作计划正在修改其研究合作的方法，以便促进比较的观点，并制定政策和建议，以普遍改进这种合作的文件。在Warnow女士的领导下，AIP团队正在调查从20世纪70年代中期到现在使用多机构合作的十个科学和技术领域。这些领域不仅包括物理学，还包括生物学、化学和计算机科学。工作人员总共进行了90次面谈，足以对每个领域的组织结构、业务职能和沟通合作模式进行概述。访谈对象不仅包括科学家，还包括管理人员和技术支持人员。他们使用一个单一的问题集，根据他们所看到的模式，从受访者那里征求容易比较的数据。本研究将产生三份报告：(1)关于近几十年来多机构合作的报告；(2)多机构合作创建的记录评估指南；(3)总结和一套最终建议，以满足科学界档案工作者和决策者的需求。口述历史记录和文字记录将在AIP中心的尼尔斯·玻尔图书馆提供。* * *

9311121 Warnow "Big" science has now reached the point where no one institution can supply the financial resources, personnel or equipment to undertake a research project. 200 or more authors are not uncommon in publications resulting from these projects. The authors come together from many different institutions in order to form temporary collaborations of varying durations. How do they operate? How do they communicate? How do the senior leaders in the project exercise control over the more junior investigators? These and many other questions need to be answered if we are to understand how big science operates. Under the direction of Ms. Warnow, the AIP Center for History of Physics has completed two phases of a three phase study of multi- institutional collaborative research in different areas of physics. Under two prior grants, the AIP has intensively studied collaborations in high-energy physics, space science, and geophysics. Under this third grant, the AIP is modifying its approach to the study of collaborations in order to promote a comparative perspective and to develop policies and recommendations to improve documentation of such collaborations generally. Under Ms. Warnow's leadership, the AIP team is investigating ten fields of science and technology that have used multi-institutional collaborations from the mid-1970's to the present. These fields include not only physics but also biology, chemistry, and computer science. The staff are conducting a total of 90 interviews--enough to develop a profile of organizational structure, operational functions, and patterns of communication of collaborations in each field. Interview subjects include not only scientists but also administrators and technical support staff. They are using a single question set to solicit easily compared data from interviewees on the basis patterns they have seen. Three reports will result from this study: (1) A report on multi-institutional collaborations over recent d ecades to the present; (2) Guidelines for the appraisal of records created by multi-institutional collaborations; and (3) A summary and a set of final recommendations to serve the needs of archivists and policy makers in the scientific community. The oral history recordings and transcripts will be accessible in the AIP Center's Niels Bohr Library. ***