Conclusion

Collaboration in the sciences is ubiquitous and highly demanded.

Yet, there are challenges and problems that impede productive and intense collaboration. In particular, problems emerging from different epistemic values and practices, a rather narrowly defined knowledge regime focusing on publications as well as coordination problems pose challenges to scholarly collaborations.

The trend towards digitalization and a participatory turn changes knowledge production: there is a need for more intense negotiation and organization of knowledge work within and beyond academia. As a result, novel forms of collaborative knowledge production have developed or been further established.

Novel formats of research are enabled by digital infrastructures and tools that support open collaboration. Digital tools and infrastructures for collaboration can be found across all stages of the scholarly research cycle. They provide services for collaborative knowledge management, literature search, data generation and collaborative review.

Currently, however, not all functions for collaboration and interaction of the services are used, dissemination functions. More research on how digital collaborative tools how affect knowledge exchange are needed, but also more users and developers of these tools.

TASK

1. Reflect on your own: how do evaluative regimes affect collaboration patterns?
2. Discuss with your peer learner: how do you experience collaboration in academia? What are the barriers and what are chances for collaboration in research and teaching from your perspective?
3. Write in the comments: How do you use digital tools and platforms? Do you make use of functions that enhance collaboration or improve interaction?