Collaborative Research: VOSS: Joining a Virtual Organization: A Multi-Method Study of Newcomers to Established Collaborations

美国国家科学基金会(NSF)和其他主要资助机构强调，需要更分散的研究中心，以解决单个研究人员无法解决的科学和工程问题。当新来者与同事实际同处一处时，进入新的工作环境已经足够具有挑战性，但加入这样一个虚拟研究机构可能会更加困难。这个多方法项目研究了新来者在加入现有的虚拟研究组织(例如，协作室)时所面临的社会化过程。具体地说，这项研究侧重于博士后研究员作为新来者加入分散或共处的研究团队。将采用调查、比较案例研究和基于代理的建模方法，以更好地了解博士后研究员如何过渡到他们的新职位，以及如何改进这种过渡。该项目的目标是(1)更好地了解博士后研究员在什么一般条件下是成功的；(2)确定博士后研究员进入虚拟组织的社会和技术障碍。与分布式条件相比，了解在同一位置下导致博士后研究员成功的实践将通过为研究人员和研究项目提供好处来改善虚拟组织。这项研究的长期目标是确定、正式化和深入了解虚拟组织规划和吸引新来者的智能实践。研究结果将对所有对虚拟组织感兴趣的科学和工程领域有价值，特别是那些拥有流动团队成员的领域。

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and other major funding agencies have emphasized the need for more distributed centers of research in order to solve problems of science and engineering that are too big for single investigators. Entry into new work settings is already challenging enough when newcomers are physically co-located with coworkers, but joining such a virtual research organization may prove even more difficult. This multi-method project studies the socialization processes newcomers face when joining existing virtual research organizations (e.g., collaboratories). Specifically, this study focuses on Post-Doctoral Fellows as newcomers joining either distributed or co-located research teams. Survey, comparative case study, and agent-based modeling methods will be employed to better understand how Post-Doctoral Fellows transition into their new positions and how such transitions can be improved. The objectives of the project are (1) to better understand under what general conditions Post-Doctoral Fellows are successful and (2) to identify social and technical barriers for Post-Doctoral Fellows entering virtual organizations. Understanding the practices that lead to Post-Doctoral Fellow success under co-located as compared to distributed conditions will improve virtual organizations by providing benefits to both the researcher and the research program. The long-term goal of this study is to identify, formalize, and gain insights into the smart practices of virtual organizations planning for and engaging newcomers. The results will be of value to all domains of science and engineering interested in virtual organizations, particularly those with fluid team membership.