W: Institutional collaboration in science: a typology of technological practice. Sci Tech Hum Val

An increase in the scale of modern science is associated with the proliferation of a new kind of research formation: collaborations involving teams of researchers from several organizations. Historical and sociological studies indicate substantial variation in such formations, but no general classification scheme exists. The authors provide the outline of a scheme through a systematic analysis of multi-institutional collaborations that span a variety of fields in physical science. First, general dimensions of scientific collabora-tions were identified through a qualitative, historical analysis of collaborations in high energy physics, space science, and geophysics. Next, the authors used informants in five new areas to collect systematic information on twenty-three recent collaborations. Finally, cluster analysis was employed to develop a variety of classification schemes and examine their relationships with outcome dimensions. Results show that a classification based on a broad conception of technological practice is superior to others in its ability to predict perceived success, trust, stress, conflict, and documentary routines. One of the most significant developments in twentieth-century science is the proliferation of projects that require the resources and expertise of multi-ple teams of researchers. Indeed, the growth of big science is not simply an increase in the scale of research, measured by exponential growth of the number of scientists and the number of their publications (de Solla Pric