@Elmer, in Europe, there are international calls for funding the research on special subjects. Before applying, the different meeting are organized under the name Partners meeting, where You post your intention, see the intention of researchers from other countries,..., and finally a joint team is formed. Then applying procedure starts under strict criteria!

Hi Elmer, for some types of research, I do it alone. So my research on music mnemonics to facilitate learning are conducted alone. Even my cooperative learning research is conducted alone. In this college, we do not have research grants. Generally, the lecturers are not too keen to research, pay for our own conferences and travelling and really work hard at it. Only this morning, my friend and neighbour, Amir asked me how I would spend this weekend. Some weekends, I have to use for my research activities.

But there is one research on facilitating independent learning that I collaborate with one other lecturer. She just joined our college this semester. I believe that a researcher who is able to work alone is able to collaborate, not the other way round. Allesandro also shares this idea. I will get back about ups and downs when time permits :)

Sir at present we are conducting a collaborative nursing research about caring outcomes. The project consists of 8 universities from 8 countries (usa, Saudi, Oman, Greece, Africa, Nigeria, Phil, and India), and currently we are in the process of data collection. We set up an online software where all responses coming different countries are automatically counted.

Your question is interesting and relevant.

I do collaborative research with co-researcher but not with institution. I have not experience yet collaborative research with institution.

How did you start it? I don't say NO to collaborative research invitation except when it is not my area of interest and time is not kind enough. From my experience I suggest stay connected in research networking, exposure to research conferences, resilience, and create a borderless researcher profile

What are the ups and downs? These are not really ups and downs but good share of experience. In collaborative research with co-researcher the areas of concern I experienced were related to scope and limitation of the study, research design, and authorship.

In fact we do not have due to several difficulties but actually it is a very nice idea.

@ Leodoro. Did you sign a MOA (agreement) or MOU (understanding) among those involved? Or any contract stating responsibilities and bounds or limits?

Dear Elmer et al.,

I have a thread that is similar to this question. View it at:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_topic_or_sub-topic_of_education_research_can_we_collaborate_on_the_solution_of_which_will_benefit_our_global_community

@Elmer, in Europe, there are international calls for funding the research on special subjects. Before applying, the different meeting are organized under the name Partners meeting, where You post your intention, see the intention of researchers from other countries,..., and finally a joint team is formed. Then applying procedure starts under strict criteria!

This article looks the factors for successful collaborative research:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850109001278

Interesting idea @Elmer for research subject under independent researching scheme; For institutional scheme i think it needs official agreements between the 2 or 3 parts;

Hi all. Very informative perspectives and excellent question. Even with MOUs, if there is plan for log term series of research projects collaboration will not materialize. Objectives, scope, and methodologies impact the contribution of researchers to join efforts and as my colleagues in this forum also insinuated motivation is an important factor.

I have been involved in such research to a limited extent with two small groups involving other institutions.

I join my colleagues in their appreciation of the idea provided not too many courses are to be taught while conducting the research.

Just ask

Maybe you can have a look at: https://sites.google.com/a/uninova.pt/cam/docs/srmt-docs/SRMTunit6.pdf?attredirects=0

Collaborations among researchers can take many forms. In a sense, there is a continuum ranging from the classic partnership between two faculty members at academic institutions, to situations such as the use by one researcher of another's resources such as a piece of equipment, a biological strain, or a database. Collaborators have expectations as to what the nature of the research relationship should be, including the rights and responsibilities of each party. Sometimes, the term "collaboration" may have different meanings to the collaborators and others who may be directly or indirectly involved. If these differences are not identified early in the relationship, and resolved through clear communication, they can become contentious when researchers' interpretations vary concerning emerging issues such as the access to and use of the data generated, or the ownership of intellectual property.

Therefore, it is in everyone's best interest to ask questions early about the terms of collaborations, and the participants' expectations. It is usually a good idea for the researchers to develop a written agreement concerning their collaboration. Sometimes, the collaborators' institutions or funding sponsors will require written agreements formalizing the research relationship. In these situations, administrative staff members will need to be involved. The need for clear communication concerning the terms of collaborations is increasing as the number of collaborations increases, and is particularly acute for those that are interdisciplinary, and/or between academic institutions and private companies. For interdisciplinary and/or academic-commercial collaborations, the norms and expectations of the collaborating parties can be quite disparate and hold a high potential for misunderstandings.

The opening case illustrates some of the problems that can arise when communication breaks down or the collaborators act solely in their own interests. In that case, there are five problems with Prof. Darcy's planned actions. First, by submitting a proposal that he knows is incorrect, he would be assisting in submitting a fraudulent proposal. Second, Darcy is proposing to submit a funding application in a way that he knows would violate his university's procedures. Third, he knows that "saving money" in this case would be at the expense of the collaborating institution. Fourth, Darcy would expose Prof. Bennett and the graduate student to tax liability, since paying them as a consultant would not permit any tax withholding. Finally, the manner in which he proposes to share materials (i.e., intellectual property) without any agreements could easily raise problems over ownership of the intellectual property. What makes this situation even worse, is Darcy insisting that Jim, his department administrator, ignore the problems, and just do as he is told.

In this module, we will be discussing the type of collaborations that most frequently occur. We will also identify the types of agreements that are used to formalize collaborations, as well the importance of using them in order to avoid misunderstandings and disputes.