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A narrative guide to help scientists improve their collaboration techniques and build trusting relationships with their research teams.
The days of scientists conducting solitary inquiries in isolated labs are effectively over, with most researchers instead collaborating in cross-functional teams. In addition to mastering the technical skills necessary in their respective fields, scientists must now learn strategies for better communication and relationship building to succeed in reaching their research goals. In Scientific Collaboration, biosecurity researcher and animal disease ecologist Jeanne M. Fair shares exciting-and occasionally cringeworthy-true stories of scientists working together. These examples provide an approachable way to introduce the principles crucial to effective scientific collaboration.
From the global community of scientists measuring sea-ice decline to cooperative private-public sector investigations of harrowing virus outbreaks, the experiences described demonstrate how scientists can rise to meet challenges together. Fair explains how to foster the principles of community, integrity, loyalty, communication, and compassion among teams. Scientists adopting and applying these principles will improve communication and trust among team members while they work toward the common goal of discovery.
Highlighting multidisciplinary research teams that have achieved transformational breakthroughs as well as stories of tough lessons learned, Scientific Collaboration provides a foundation for increasing research productivity while bringing more fun into the collaborative process. This book will appeal to all scientists and team leaders in this new scientific world, wherein the most important breakthroughs happen through cooperation, combined effort, and mutual trust.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Transformative Collaborations
2. Communities
3. A Scientific Revolution
4. The Science of Team Science
5. Trust
6. Competence
7. Communication
8. Fish Don't Know They're in Water
9. Dream Teams
10. Science Networks
11. What the hell just happened?
References
Jeanne M. Fair is a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her work focuses on ornithology, infectious disease ecology, and climate change.
"Fair provides an insider's view of research collaboration while making very good use of existing research and data, including her own. Scientific Collaboration is a wonderful guide for people who work on research teams, but it should also appeal to a wide array of practitioners and scientists."
– Barry Bozeman, Arizona State University, coauthor of The Strength in Numbers: The New Science of Team Science
"Through real examples, this book helps to illustrate how to put into practice scholarship on team science to address critical, sometimes timely, societal needs."
– Kavita M. Berger, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
"From tackling disease emergence to environmental change, Dr. Fair weaves her experiences as a research team member into tales of how effective collaboration will lead to enjoyable and productive careers. The complex challenges scientists must address today, she argues, require diverse teams. This book will advance science across all disciplines."
– Sarah Hamer, Texas A&M University
