How does scientists’ mobility influence the formation, dynamics and geography of scientific collaborations? Conceptual and empirical issues.

My research consists in investigating the link between geographical mobility and co-authorship formation and dynamics. I consider that existing literature has largely focused on the effect of mobility and collaborations on scientific productivity, but not sufficiently on the relationship between mobility and collaborations. Moreover, literature on collaboration has mainly focused on the organisation of collaborative research and the coordination of the partners involved during projects, leaving out the genesis of collaborations and partner linkage issues. I propose a methodology based on matching bibliometric data and qualitative data recoded from CVs and semi-structured interviews. The case study of some chemists and mathematicians suggests that the difference in mobility behaviour does not have a strong incidence on the geography of their co-authorship.

Acerca de Bastien Barnela

Bastien Bernela is assistant professor in Economics at the University of Poitiers. His research works deal with the career paths of scientists, and the impact of mobility on scientific collaborations’ dynamics. He develops mixed methods (econometrics, social network analysis and interviews) and interests particularly in the role of interpersonal relationships in scientific coordination.