Session 1 - Interdisciplinary Collaborations

Ann S. Zimmerman
University of Michigan

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     Last modified: October 3, 2008

Abstract
Abstract:
Collaboration across distance and disciplines: Issues of success

While collaboration has always been a part of research, those who worked together in the past were often collocated. Today, research needs to be able to take advantage of knowledge and expertise regardless of location. However, anyone who has participated in a project where participants are scattered across different locations knows that distance matters. Given that, how can we increase the chance that scientific collaborations across distance will succeed, and what does it mean for a project to be successful? The Theory of Remote Scientific Collaboration proposes a broad set of success measures and analyzes factors that affect the outcomes of distributed collaborations.


Biography:
I am a Research Assistant Professor at the School of Information's Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work. The main focus of my research is to understand the ways that information technologies affect scientific practice, knowledge production, and the organization of research. Through this work, I seek to deepen theoretical understanding, to influence those who will build the technologies that researchers will use, and to assist scientists to design organizational systems that support their efforts and are responsive to social norms and disciplinary cultures.