Do synthesis centers synthesize? A semantic analysis of topical diversity in research

Edward J Hackett,Erin Leahey,John N Parker,Ismael Rafols,Stephanie E Hampton,Ugo Corte,Diego Chavarro,John M Drake,Bart Penders,Laura Sheble,Niki Vermeulen,Todd J Vision

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2020.104069

Abstract

Synthesis centers are a form of scientific organization that catalyzes and supports research that integrates diverse theories, methods and data across spatial or temporal scales to increase the generality, parsimony, applicability, or empirical soundness of scientific explanations. Synthesis working groups are a distinctive form of scientific collaboration that produce consequential, high-impact publications. But no one has asked if synthesis working groups synthesize: are their publications substantially more diverse than others, and if so, in what ways and with what effect? We investigate these questions by using Latent Dirichlet Analysis to compare the topical diversity of papers published by synthesis center collaborations with that of papers in a reference corpus. Topical diversity was operationalized and measured in several ways, both to reflect aggregate diversity and to emphasize particular aspects of diversity (such as variety, evenness, and balance). Synthesis center publications have greater topical variety and evenness, but less disparity, than do papers in the reference corpus. The influence of synthesis center origins on aspects of diversity is only partly mediated by the size and heterogeneity of collaborations: when taking into account the numbers of authors, distinct institutions, and references, synthesis center origins retain a significant direct effect on diversity measures. Controlling for the size and heterogeneity of collaborative groups, synthesis center origins and diversity measures significantly influence the visibility of publications, as indicated by citation measures. We conclude by suggesting social processes within collaborations that might account for the observed effects, by inviting further exploration of what this novel textual analysis approach might reveal about interdisciplinary research, and by offering some practical implications of our results.

Highlights

Synthesis centers are a form of scientific organization that catalyzes and supports research that integrates diverse theories, methods and data across spatial or temporal scales to increase the generality, parsimony, applicability, or empirical soundness of scientific explanations
Scale, and apparent success, synthesis centers have been strategic sites for several studies of the process and outcomes of their distinctive form of interdisciplinary collaboration (Hackett et al, 2008; Rhoten and Parker 2003; Hackett and Parker, 2016), but no study yet has asked, Do synthesis centers synthesize? That is, if such centers integrate diverse concepts, theories, tools, techniques and data, the publications of synthesis-center collaborations should be more diverse and, in con sequence, more visible than other publications. We address these questions through semantic analysis of the text of published journal articles to compare the topical di versity of publications originating in synthesis centers with publications in a reference corpus of scientific literature
The topics that characterize synthesis center papers are less disparate than those derived from the reference corpus

Summary

What is synthesis?

Scientific synthesis is a form of interdisciplinary research that in tegrates diverse theories, methods, and data across spatial or temporal scales, scientific phenomena, or forms of expertise to increase the generality, parsimony, applicability, or empirical soundness of scien tific explanations (Carpenter et al, 2009; Hackett and Parker, 2016). Several years of ethnographic observation (Hackett et al, 2008; Hackett and Parker, 2016), quantitative analyses of working group characteristics and performance (Hampton and Parker, 2010), and a pilot study combining sociometric sensors, daily surveys, and ethno graphy (Parker et al, 2018) showed that synthesis center collabora tions produced group characteristics that promote individual and collective creativity (Amabile, 2013; Corte et al, 2019; Parker and Corte, 2017) These characteristics included: (1) resources, both in the form of human expertise and as research material and tools (including bridging social capital); (2) context, removed from everyday status cues and conducive to rich interpersonal interaction though bonding and shared social capital; (3) energy, arising from collective excite ment about a motivating research question or compelling societal need (e.g., the use-inspired fundamental research of Pasteur's Quad rant; Stokes 1997); and (4) adaptive management of ambivalence or values in tension.. Despite this body of research, no analysis has yet addressed the fundamental question: Do synthesis centers synthesize? our primary goal is to investigate whether papers from synthesis centers integrate a greater diversity of topics than comparable papers from a reference corpus. We assess whether the topical diversity of a publication and its origin in a synthesis center enhance its visibility or impact, as indicated by citations

Diversity and synthesis

Hypotheses

Results

Conclusion

Declaration of Competing Interest