NSF Collaboration Study October 2012: Web-based Survey

Q1 Dear Colleague, Thank you for participating in the National Study of Research Collaboration, a joint project of University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by the National Science Foundation [Grant Award SES-1026231]. The overall purpose of the project is to learn about researchers’ experiences, preferences and problems in connection with their own specific research collaborations. Our questionnaire asks you to reflect on collaboration experiences throughout your career. After the present study is completed, our project website ( will share the general findings of the study. Please note the following: Your participation will entail responding to a series of questions related to the dynamics of collaborative research and should only take about 15 minutes. Your involvement in the study is voluntary, and you may choose not to participate or to stop at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are already entitled. The results of the research study may be published, but your identity will not be associated with your responses in any published format. In fact, the published results will be presented in summary form only. Please note that internet communications are insecure and there is a limit to the confidentiality that can be guaranteed due to the technology itself. However, once the materials are received by the researcher, standard confidentiality procedures will be employed. For example, any material or documents linking individuals to responses will be destroyed. The findings from this project may provide information helpful to enhancing the quality of research collaboration. While the majority of the questions being asked here pose no risk or discomfort, there is a potential for some respondents to experience minimal discomfort when responding to questions related to negative research collaboration experiences. We minimize these potential discomforts keeping individual responses confidential and designing questions that prohibit attribution of negative behavior to individuals. Please feel free to visit the project website (see the link above) if you have any questions about this research project. You may also call me at (706) 583-5570 or send an e-mail to . For questions about the subjects rights as a research participant, please contact Georgia Institute of Technology, Office of Research Compliance, at (404) 385-2175 or The Chairperson, University of Georgia Institutional Review Board, 629 Boyd GSRC, Athens, Georgia 30602-7411; telephone (706) 542-3199; email: . To make sure that this research is being carried out in the proper way, the Georgia Institute of Technology IRB may review study records. The Office of Human Research Protections may also look over study records during required reviews. The sponsor of this study, National Science Foundation, has the right to review study records as well. By completing the following survey you are agreeing to participate in the above described research project. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Please feel free to print and keep a copy of this page for your records. Again, thank you for participating. Professor Barry Bozeman Regents' Professor and Ander Crenshaw Chair University of Georgia Project Director (706) 583-5570 or

Q2 When taking this survey please do not use your brower’s back button. To advance to the next page, or return to a previous page, please use the navigation buttons at the bottom of the page.

Q3 Section One. Introductory Collaboration Questions In this section we are ask you about your most recent collaboration experience (in a later section we focus more broadly on collaborations during your entire career). Please think of the last co-authored research paper you had accepted for publication in a scientific or professional journal. We do not wish to know the name of the article or the journal or any other identifying information. However, please keep this one most recent co-authored paper in mind as you answer the questions in this section of the questionnaire.

Q4 (Please check here if you have never published or have had accepted for publication a co-authored paper. Otherwise use the forward navigation button below.)

never published a co-authored paper (1)

If never published a co-author... Is Selected, Then Skip To Section Three. Background Information

Q5 Regarding that most recent co-authored research publication, how many co-authors were listed in the publication (including yourself)?

Number of co-authors (1)

Q6 Were you the first listed author in the publication?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Q7 Regarding this recent co-authored research publication, in what year was it accepted for publication?

Year accepted for publication (1)

Q8 Researchers may have many different motivations for collaborating, including (but not limited to) the ones listed below. Regarding the factors that led you to collaborate on this most recent co-authored research paper, how important, if at all, were the following?

Not Important at all (1) / (2) / (3) / (4) / (5) / (6) / (7) / (8) / (9) / Extremely Important (10) / Not applicable
Helping me to obtain tenure or promotion (1) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Helping a co-author's career (2) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Working with persons highly fluent in my native language (3) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Providing research training for co-authoring students or postdocs (4) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Having fun working with researchers I like on a personal basis (6) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Increasing my own research productivity (7) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Working with researchers whose skills and knowledge complement mine (8) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Working with persons I can depend on to complete work on time (9) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
Working with collaborator(s) whom I felt would be fair in co-author crediting or order of authorship (10) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 

Q9 How would you describe your relationship to your coauthor(s)before the collaborative paper? Please check all that apply

We met in graduate school (1)

We met at an academic conference (2)

We are in the same academic department (3)

We are at the same institution but different departments (4)

We met through a mutual colleague (5)

My thesis advisor was my co-author (6)

My coauthor was my student or former student (7)

Other (please specify) (8) ______

Q10 What was the primary basis for the ordering of co-authors (i.e. first author, second author and so on)? [Please check only one]

Co-author order is alphabetic (1)

Order is random (2)

Co-author order is based on decisions made by one or more co-authors (3)

Order reflects one or more of the co-authors assessment of the importance of each co-author's contribution to the research (4)

The most senior or highly reputed authors are listed before the less senior ones (5)

The most senior or highly reputed authors are listed after the less senior ones (6)

Order is based on agreements or procedures adopted from co-authors' earlier collaborative research (7)

I do not know how we arrived at this rationale for the ordering of co-authors (8)

Other (please specify) (9) ______

Q11 Did you and your co-author(s) ever have explicit discussions about co-authoring credit (e.g. who should or should not be listed as a co-author, author order)?

We had explicit discussion (1)

We had no explicit discussion, these issues were more or less assumed (2)

If We had explicit discussion Is Selected, Then Skip To When did the discussions about co-aut...If We had no explicit discussi... Is Selected, Then Skip To Since there was no explicit discussio...

Q12 When did the discussions about co-authorship occur? [Discussions may have occurred on several occasions, so please check all that apply]

Discussions about co-author credit occurred even before the research commenced (1)

Discussions occurred as soon as the research commenced (2)

Discussions occurred during the course of the research (3)

Discussions occurred after the research was concluded (4)

Answer If Did you and your co-author(s) ever have explicit discussi... We had no explicit discussion, these issues were more or less assumed Is Selected

Q13 Since there was no explicit discussion of co-authorship, how was the decision made about whom to include and not include as a co-author? Please check all that apply.

We followed practice from previous collaborations (1)

One person made the decision (2)

If Since there was no explicit discussion of co-authorship, ... One person made the decision Is Selected

The person making the decision was the first author (3)

If Since there was no explicit discussion of co-authorship, ... One person made the decision Is Selected

The person making the decision was the most senior person in the collaboration (4)

Author order seemed obvious because of the nature or amount of work that each collaborator performed (5)

It was clear to us that one or more persons had greater "need" because of career status (e.g. need for tenure, job-seeking) (6)

Other (please specify): (7) ______

Q14 Please tell us the gender of the co-authors (including yourself).

Number of male co-authors (1)

Number of female co-authors (2)

Q15 At the time the research paper was first submitted to the journal ultimately accepting it for publication, where were your co-authors located?

Number of co-authors then affiliated with your university (not including you) (1)

Number of co-authors then in a different university (2)

Number of co-authors then in a private firm or industry (3)

Other (please specify): (4)

Answer If Were you the first listed author in the publication? No Is Selected

Q16 Below is a list of activities that could be part of any research collaboration. Referring again to the same most recent co-authored publication, please indicate below whether co-authors were engaged in the respective activities. Note: In some cases, individuals who are not listed as co-authors may have contributed. If so, please so indicate.

Myself (1) / Lead author (2) / Other co-author (3) / Person not listed as a co-author (4) / Not Applicable (5)
Initially developing the research question (1) /  /  /  /  / 
Providing or collecting data (2) /  /  /  /  / 
Conducting data analysis or testing (3) /  /  /  /  / 
Writing part of the textual material for the published article (4) /  /  /  /  / 
Reviewing literature (5) /  /  /  /  / 
Providing funding from grant or contract (6) /  /  /  /  / 
Administering laboratory or center (7) /  /  /  /  / 
made no contribution to the research even though listed as co-author (8) /  /  /  /  / 

Answer If Were you the first listed author in the publication? Yes Is Selected

Q17 Below is a list of activities that could be part of any research collaboration. Referring again to the most recent publication, please indicate below whether co-authors were engaged in the respective activities. Note: In some cases, individuals who are not listed as co-authors may have contributed. If so, please so indicate.

Myself (1) / Other co-author (2) / Person not listed as a co-author (3) / Not Applicable (4)
Initially developing the research question (1) /  /  /  / 
Providing or collecting data (2) /  /  /  / 
Conducting data analysis or testing (3) /  /  /  / 
Writing part of the textual material for the published article (4) /  /  /  / 
Reviewing literature (5) /  /  /  / 
Providing funding from grant or contract (6) /  /  /  / 
Administering laboratory or center (7) /  /  /  / 
Though a co-author, made no contribution to the research (8) /  /  /  / 

Q18 Below is a series of statements that may or may not relate to your views about your co-authoring experience regarding this most recent publication. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement.

Strongly Agree (1) / (2) / (3) / (4) / Neither agree nor disagree (5) / (6) / (7) / (8) / (9) / Strongly Disagree (10)
I consider this publication to be one of my best in terms of scientific quality (1) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
One or more of the co-authors was strongly motivated by the commercial possibilities of the research (2) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
One or more of the co-authors was strongly motivated by the potential of the research to help solve social problems (7) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
All things considered, I feel my contribution was greater than my co-authors (3) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
There is at least one person who deserved co-author credit but did not receive it (4) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
There is at least one person who did not deserve co-author credit but received it (5) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 
There was significant gender-based conflict among the co-authors (6) /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  /  / 

Q19 Section Two. Career-Long Experiences with Collaboration In this section our concern is with the collaboration experiences you have had during your entire career. If you have had a long research career you may not have a precise count of some of the questions below. However, your best estimate will do.

Q20 For your entire research career, approximately what percentage of your published research have been single-authored (i.e. no co-authors)?

Percentage (1)

Q21 About what percentage of your co-authored papers have included students as co-authors?

Percentage (1)

Q22 Below is a list of negative behaviors that sometimes occur in research collaboration. Have you at any point had such experiences in your collaborations?

Happened more than 3 times (1) / Happened 1-3 times (2) / Has never happened (3)
A co-author did not finish agreed upon research-related activities (1) /  /  / 
Co-authorship credit was denied to someone who deserved to be a co-author (2) /  /  / 
A co-author claimed lead authorship when it was not deserved (4) /  /  / 
A person listed as a co-author made no contribution at all to the research (5) /  /  / 

Q23 Section Three. Background Information

Q24 In what year did you receive your doctoral degree?

year (YYYY) (1)

Q25 Check here if your highest degree is not a doctoral degree

Not a doctoral degree (1)

Q26 Are you currently tenured?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Answer If Are you currently tenured? Yes Is Selected

Q27 In what year were you first tenured?

year (YYYY) (1)

Q28 What is your current rank and title?

Q29 Are you female or male?

Female (1)

Male (2)

Q30 What is your racial, ethnic identity? (Please check all that apply)

White/Caucasian (1)

Asian (2)

African/Black (3)

Hispanic (11)

Native American (6)

Other (please specify) (9) ______

Prefer not to say (7)

Q31 In what year were you born?

year (YYYY) (1)

Q32 During the past five years, what is the total number (if any) of doctoral students for whom you have been their primary dissertation supervisor?

Doctoral students (1)

Q33 During the past five years, what is the total number (if any) of postdoctoral students for whom you have been their primary supervisor?

Postdoctoral students (1)

Q34 Please tell us about an especially positive or an especially negative collaboration experience (or one of each). As indicated, our study seeks to understand research collaboration dynamics, including perceived quality of collaborations. We are especially interested in extreme cases, ones where collaborations are especially beneficial and effective, or ones that are highly disruptive or ineffective. If you have an anecdote to share we would be very grateful. To gather such anecdotes confidentially we have set up a separate website If you click below you will be taken to this separate website and any information you care to give us will remain confidential. As with the rest of the survey, your responses will not be individually identifiable. We hope you will take just a few minutes and share one or two interesting anecdotes, either positive or negative. Thank you for considering our request. Whether or not you wish to share an anecdote, please accept our thanks for participating in this study. Please visit the following website to share your experiences confidentially: [LINK TO WEBSITE HERE]

Q35 Thank you for completing our survey.