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Investments in Scientific Research: Examining the Funding Threshold Effects on Scientific Collaboration and Variation by Academic Discipline
Author(s) -
Clark Benjamin Y.,
Llorens Jared J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2012.00470.x
Subject(s) - variation (astronomy) , test (biology) , political science , psychology , physics , biology , astrophysics , paleontology
This paper seeks to examine how federal financial support of academic scientists shapes their collaborative behavior. More specifically, it investigates two questions: (i) are there threshold sizes of federal grants that have effects on collaboration? and (ii) do the threshold sizes differ by discipline? To test and model these questions, this paper uses data collected in a 2004–2005 survey by the R esearch V aluing M apping P roject (a project based at G eorgia T ech and led by B arry B ozeman) of 2,086 academically based research scientists and engineers. The analysis in this paper reaffirms the positive relationship between federal funding and collaboration seen in previous works, but the findings suggest that there is in fact a threshold effect—as the positive relationship has a diminishing influence. The findings of this paper are more limited with respect to how academic disciplines’ threshold levels differ. The results indicate a difference in the threshold levels between disciplines for three of the eight models.