What Is Open Scientific Collaboration

Introduction

Collaboration in science is the art of scientists working together especially in the area of research to achieve certain desired results. It is a partnership between different scientists with a common goal. Collaborators in science are, therefore, the people who work together and make an essential contribution to the piece of work. The most current form of collaboration in science is the Open Science Collaboration (OSC). Open science collaboration is a type of collaboration where diverse scientists work together in a project in which each contributes in his/her area of specialty and the final result is not explicitly claimed by any of the scientists. Such projects carried out by open science collaboration are called open projects

The foundation stage is where the policies, norms and several factors such as political, social and resource accessibility are reviewed. The scientists identify the problem and the need for collaborating to find a solution to that problem at this stage. This is done to ascertain the impacts and the roles of the social, economic and even political factors on the collaboration and the project to be carried out. The formulation stage involves the scientists initiating and planning the project. This is where the vision, goals, and the tasks are laid down. The organizational structure of the group is formulated, and its leadership given the mandate to proceed. The issues of intellectual property patent and other legal aspects are fixed at this point to avoid future collisions. This is where the scope of work is cut out for each collaborator and the expected contributions of each member is laid out. The sustainment stage involves the actual work of research or any other scientific work. This stage involves the utilization of local control mechanisms to ensure smooth working environment devoid of conflicts. In most cases, some collaborators are given the responsibility of managing several aspects of the work. The specific roles and resources are allocated to the collaborators and the work proceed. The conclusion stage involves the publication of the

Most importantly, collaboration in research. Wagner and Leyesdorff (2005), argue that scientific collaboration, especially international, frees scholars from local drawbacks in research. These local setbacks include funding and limitations to the scope of the study. Apart from the access of resources, some scientists collaborate so as to form social networks. In the process of working together, the scientists are exposed to new concepts and ideas from senior colleagues and hence learning and capacity building takes place. According to Lambert (2003), collaboration is one of the most efficient methods of acquiring