What is Collaborative Science? Benefits of Scientific Collaboration

One of the best things about the internet is that it contains much of humankind's collective knowledge. However, this repository of information is sometimes not enough. Absent interpretation and creative application, raw data can only go so far. This is why collaborative science is fundamental to our society's advancement. Let’s briefly explore how collaboration impacts science and our world.

What is scientific collaboration?

The basic meaning of scientific collaboration is as simple as it gets—two or more scientists working together on a problem is an instance of scientific collaboration. This expression may seem new if you’re more accustomed to hearing terms like "team-based research" or "academic partnerships", which are more specific and complex forms of scientific collaboration.

Why is collaboration important in science?

To explain this further, we’ll use an analogy comparing scientific research to physical labor (for example, moving furniture). If you’ve ever engaged in manual labor, you may know that a set of helping hands exponentially (not linearly) increases your efficiency. When moving a couch, getting assistance doesn’t make a difference between relocating it in 10 or 20 minutes. The difference can be between moving the sofa or not at all.

The same concept applies to collaborative science. Different scientists have different specialties. In some research projects, various fields overlap, and one experimenter can’t progress to the next stage without getting input from another expert.

Instead of spending years acquiring one more specialization (that the individual may not need in subsequent tasks), that person can team up with a niche-trained colleague.

This type of joint alliance doesn’t only happen on an individual level. In fact, organizations are more likely to leverage cross-functional efforts than individuals. Sometimes, this collaborative research is government-managed and funded.

What are the types of collaborative research?

Collaborative research is a broad term for a very flexible style of interacting among diverse parties to achieve common goals typically unattainable by an individual researcher. This method is adaptable enough to support a coordinated study shared across national and international boundaries, span inter-organizational teams, or include only members within the same organization. 

Here are five of the most common types of collaboration:

• Within the institution
• With other institutions
• With private companies
• Based on the task expertise
• In international research

Examples of collaboration in science

Perhaps the best-known example of scientific collaboration is that of the International Space Station (ISS), which is cooperatively run by agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. Given the ISS’s incredible growth from a remote station constructed by mutinational engineers, piece by piece while orbiting Earth, to a state-of-the-art cosmic laboratory where astronaut scientists living in microgravity conduct research and experiments to benefit humanity, it is improbable that any of these agencies alone could achieve this level of space technology. Together, though, through their partnership, they’ve been successfully operating the ISS since 1998.

CERN (European Council for Nuclear Research) is another famous example. This intergovernmental organization (and the birthplace of the World Wide Web—a case in point of the benefits of collaborative science!) is dedicated to researching and understanding the universe. Through co-partnerships on the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments at CERN, the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the Higgs Boson particle represents one of human history’s most significant strides in particle physics. Feats of this magnitude are nearly impossible without deep collaborative efforts.

While these are concrete examples of large-scale scientific collaboration, what would a more mainstream example look like?

Take, for instance, the use of high-power lasers in material processing. Such applications require people focused on optics and lasers and others adept in material properties and characterization working on the same project. In addition to these technicians, projects may call for the actual equipment, some of which may be rare and expensive. Organizations like LaserNetUS provide students and scientists access to high-powered lasers and state-of-the-art technical capabilities such as target delivery systems, diagnostics, and analysis software for collaborative scientific experiments.

What are the benefits of scientific collaboration?

As we’ve discussed, the growth of efficiency due to collaboration is not linear but exponential. Therefore, more can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. Since different specialists/departments can be delegated to separate tasks, much work can be done simultaneously.

Not all scientific work is based on conclusions from crunching numbers (data analysis). Creativity and problem-solving play an integral role in generating new ideas. In this regard, experts with diverse training and education can benefit from collaborative research. This includes multiple people from the same field (even the same subspecialty). After all, having more people on a project means myriad insights and countless additional possible solutions.

Scientific collaboration is the industry standard practice. It’s not an isolated phenomenon where most professionals or organizations work independently and team up on rare occasions. This is an intrinsic part of the scientific world, so enhancing collaboration skills is essential. Collaboration abilities can be as critical for a project’s outcome as hard scientific skills.

Collaborative learning in science

The last thing we’ll address here is the collaborative approach to teaching science. In a collaborative program, students must reevaluate their ideas by having their peers challenge them. More importantly, they learn how to develop proper arguments to defend their concepts and then see if these arguments hold up.

Collaborative learning in science prepares students for the future and is a natural prerequisite to collaborative research. This way of learning offers a key advantage to science students because most research they will conduct in their work is done collectively.

Notably, collaborative learning helps improve communication and teamwork skills. This will benefit researchers regardless of their background or future academic careers.

Wrap up

In the end, collaborative science is an umbrella term that describes any situation in which research is done by more than one person or party. Because collaborations are a natural part of our ecosystem, it’s impossible to imagine modern science without them.

Task specialization has led us to the refinements of civilization we enjoy today. And the world of science operates on the same principle by harnessing the power of the unique many to optimize resources and expand the limits of human knowledge and achievement.

To learn more about the nature of collaborative science and research in laser technology, join us at LaserNetUS and get involved!