Collaborations
Collaborations
The thing all research collaborations have in common is that every collaboration is unique. For that reason, collaborating can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding. Here is offered some tips and information to help you navigate and get the most benefit out of your collaboration as an undergraduate researcher.
Example Types of Collaborations
· Bunch of grapes – members of a research group working together under one faculty member
· Bunch of bananas – two or more research groups from the same institution
· Apple and banana – private company and academic research group
· Fruit salad – two or more research groups from multiple institutions or private companies
Setting the Stage for Success
As an undergraduate, you will most likely be joining an existing collaboration that was previously established by your principal investigator (PI). If you are around when a collaboration gets set up, however, you can expect to address:
· goals of the project
· short-term and long-term timelines
· frequency and modes of communication
· credit for authorship
· research-related or personnel-related contingency planning
Being clear at the commencement of collaboration can promote a positive experience. In Preempting Discord: Prenuptial Agreements for Scientists, Gadlin et al. say, “most often, problems arise in scientific collaborations because the scientists failed to explicitly define their expectations of one another.”
Communication
All the experience from group projects you have worked on before might culminate with this realization – communication is key. How many times have you been ghosted by a lab partner and still expected the project to turn out just fine? Chances are, if you are communicating, then the project is important to you and you are making progress on your agreed upon work. So be a good collaborator and keep the lines of communication open and active. Depending on the situation, you may choose in-person or virtual meetings, email, phone, or a shared team platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams. Decide whether someone will be presenting their findings or if a general check-in on all parties is needed. Meeting regularly is very helpful, but meeting too often can be counterproductive, so decide with your collaborators whether a daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly meeting is most appropriate.
References
https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/connections/best-practices-collaborating-research
Gadlin, Howard and Kevin Jessar. (2001) “Preempting Discord: Prenuptial Agreements for Scientists.” In: ORI: The Office of Research Integrity.
