Composition of scientific teams and publication productivity

Abstract

The production of scientific knowledge has evolved from a process of inquiry largely based on the activities of individual scientists to one grounded in the collaborative efforts of highly specialized research teams, which have become an increasingly prominent means of knowledge production. This study examines data from 1,415 experiments conducted by scientific teams at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) to examine how the diversity of science teams along several key variables—including institutional diversity, disciplinary diversity, gender, seniority, and the network position—impacts overall team productivity as measured by peer reviewed journal publication. The results from correlation and quantile regression analysis indicate high productivity in teams is associated with high disciplinary diversity and low seniority diversity in team membership; team cohesion also positively related to productivity. Teams with members in central structural positions performed better than other teams. A better understanding of the factors that impact scientific teams, as determined by this and future research, may enable key stakeholders to facilitate more effective and efficient team operations and increase overall scientific productivity.