A Conversation for The View at h2g2

Collaborative Uni. projects

Post 1

Kes

I have a theory on why most of the Uni. projects aren't collaborative ...

I managed two projects. One is completed and "published" ... the other is nearing completion. Both were collaborative, involving up to 6 researchers. Everyone who contributed has been really great ... but the simple problem of coordinating several people across multiple timezones means that the projects took a long time ..... I reckon some such projects may have started and fizzled ... maybe that's why most are single-author projects?

To prospective contributors "out there", however, I'd say ... give collaborative projects a go! It is fantastic fun, and the quality of the entries benefits greatly from having a diversity of input and ideas.


Collaborative Uni. projects

Post 2

Post Team

That's a very good point, Kes. I'm going to include a little of your post in my next column, if you don't mind.


Collaborative Uni. projects

Post 3

Blatherskite the Mugwump - Bandwidth Bandit

I'm on my second project, and I haven't noticed that problem. But then, I don't collaborate on individual pieces... my collaborator volunteers to cover certain aspects of the subject matter, and I cover the others.

I'm more inclined to believe that:

1) People are not checking the University halls to see if there is anything they would like to contribute to.

2) People working on projects are having difficulty finding other people who are knowledgeable on the particular subject, write at an exceptional caliber, and are willing to join up.

In my case, I knew of one researcher who would likely want to contribute, as he had produced articles of a similar type before. I sought him out, and he volunteered. If I had known of any others, I would have approached them. And my calls for volunteers on the project pages have gone unnoticed.


Collaborative Uni. projects

Post 4

Kes

Yes, I think that's probably a factor as well ... either (as Cl Sellers says) they don't often get off the gorund, or, when\if they do they can be "too hard" to coordinate. Post - you're welcome to use my observation! smiley - smiley


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