Consolidation in a crisis: Patterns of international collaboration in early COVID-19 research.

Fry, CV; Cai, X; Zhang, Y; Wagner, CS

Consolidation in a crisis: Patterns of international collaboration in early COVID-19 research.

Fry, CV Cai, X Zhang, Y

Wagner, CS

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Publisher:: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: PloS one, 2020, 15, (7), pp. e0236307
Issue Date:: 2020-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fry, CV
dc.contributor.author	Cai, X
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, Y https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7731-0301
dc.contributor.author	Wagner, CS
dc.date.accessioned	2020-09-04T06:31:17Z
dc.date.available	2020-07-02
dc.date.available	2020-09-04T06:31:17Z
dc.date.issued	2020-01
dc.identifier.citation	PloS one, 2020, 15, (7), pp. e0236307
dc.identifier.issn	1932-6203
dc.identifier.issn	1932-6203
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142547
dc.description.abstract	This paper seeks to understand whether a catastrophic and urgent event, such as the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerates or reverses trends in international collaboration, especially in and between China and the United States. A review of research articles produced in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that COVID-19 research had smaller teams and involved fewer nations than pre-COVID-19 coronavirus research. The United States and China were, and continue to be in the pandemic era, at the center of the global network in coronavirus related research, while developing countries are relatively absent from early research activities in the COVID-19 period. Not only are China and the United States at the center of the global network of coronavirus research, but they strengthen their bilateral research relationship during COVID-19, producing more than 4.9% of all global articles together, in contrast to 3.6% before the pandemic. In addition, in the COVID-19 period, joined by the United Kingdom, China and the United States continued their roles as the largest contributors to, and home to the main funders of, coronavirus related research. These findings suggest that the global COVID-19 pandemic shifted the geographic loci of coronavirus research, as well as the structure of scientific teams, narrowing team membership and favoring elite structures. These findings raise further questions over the decisions that scientists face in the formation of teams to maximize a speed, skill trade-off. Policy implications are discussed.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE190100994
dc.relation.ispartof	PloS one
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1371/journal.pone.0236307
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.classification	General Science & Technology
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Pneumonia, Viral
dc.subject.mesh	Coronavirus Infections
dc.subject.mesh	Biomedical Research
dc.subject.mesh	International Cooperation
dc.subject.mesh	United States
dc.subject.mesh	China
dc.subject.mesh	Pandemics
dc.subject.mesh	United Kingdom
dc.subject.mesh	Betacoronavirus
dc.subject.mesh	Betacoronavirus
dc.subject.mesh	Biomedical Research
dc.subject.mesh	China
dc.subject.mesh	Coronavirus Infections
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	International Cooperation
dc.subject.mesh	Pandemics
dc.subject.mesh	Pneumonia, Viral
dc.subject.mesh	United Kingdom
dc.subject.mesh	United States
dc.title	Consolidation in a crisis: Patterns of international collaboration in early COVID-19 research.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	15
utslib.location.activity	United States
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - AAII - Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2020-09-04T06:31:00Z
pubs.issue	7
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	15
utslib.citation.issue	7

Abstract:

This paper seeks to understand whether a catastrophic and urgent event, such as the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerates or reverses trends in international collaboration, especially in and between China and the United States. A review of research articles produced in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that COVID-19 research had smaller teams and involved fewer nations than pre-COVID-19 coronavirus research. The United States and China were, and continue to be in the pandemic era, at the center of the global network in coronavirus related research, while developing countries are relatively absent from early research activities in the COVID-19 period. Not only are China and the United States at the center of the global network of coronavirus research, but they strengthen their bilateral research relationship during COVID-19, producing more than 4.9% of all global articles together, in contrast to 3.6% before the pandemic. In addition, in the COVID-19 period, joined by the United Kingdom, China and the United States continued their roles as the largest contributors to, and home to the main funders of, coronavirus related research. These findings suggest that the global COVID-19 pandemic shifted the geographic loci of coronavirus research, as well as the structure of scientific teams, narrowing team membership and favoring elite structures. These findings raise further questions over the decisions that scientists face in the formation of teams to maximize a speed, skill trade-off. Policy implications are discussed.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142547