Collaboration among e-research projects in the UK: An analysis using online research methods

In this chapter, we investigate the use of web-based data for mapping the collaboration dynamics of e-research at the project level. We focus on the web presences of projects that were part of the UK e-Science and e-Social Science programmes, cyberinfrastructure-like efforts that aimed to foster the development of collaboration infrastructure, initially in the sciences and latterly in the social sciences. We explore two different analytic approaches for mapping levels and orientation towards collaboration amongst projects that constitute the UK e-Science and e-Social Science programmes: Content Analysis and Hyperlink Analysis. In addition to presenting results of these analyses, we also discuss the effectiveness of unobtrusive research techniques such as web content analysis and hyperlink analysis for mapping collaboration dynamics, not only at the project level but also in terms of sensitivity to broader contexts e.g., institutional. We compare these approaches with obtrusive research techniques such as surveys of individuals participating in e-Research