Limitations of big team science
It is important to note that although big team science has the potential to increase diversity, equity and inclusion, this does not happen automatically. There are many ways that researchers can be inadvertently excluded from big team science, for example:
- Researchers are sometimes not paid to participate in these projects, and instead do so for academic ‘rewards’ such as authorship on the eventual paper. This means that those who cannot afford to do this unpaid work may not be able to participate.
- Sometimes, the lead team can come up with the entire design for the study, without input from their international team, so many researchers end up only collecting data without having wider input in the study.
- Usually, all communication about a big team science study is done in one language, so researchers who do not speak that language will be unable to collaborate on the project, and those who only speak some of that language may struggle to understand what is needed of them.
As with all research, an active effort needs to be made to include a diverse range of researchers in a project. Big team science does pose a good starting model for this, and many researchers are currently working on ways to make these kinds of projects more inclusive, for example through on-boarding collaborators at the design stage so that they can have input very early on in the project, and creating training materials for researchers. For example, ManyBabies [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] – a big team science project for developmental research – has several initiatives to try to increase diverse participation. For example, ManyBabies has a student advisor, monthly drop-in hours, and hosts training workshops on different research-relevant topics (e.g. behavioural coding).
Activity 3:
Allow about 20 minutes
Imagine you received a huge grant for a big team science project in your field. Which questions would you prioritise answering? How would you encourage participation from a diverse range of collaborators? How would you coordinate everything logistically?
Use the text box to write your thoughts.
When you are ready, press 'reveal' to see our comments.
Discussion
There are many things you might have thought about, depending on your research area! You may have thought about which questions would be most important to answer in your field, or which questions would most benefit from having global data collection. You might have thought about ways that you could encourage participation from diverse collaborators including offering clear documentation, training, and reaching out to your extended networks. You might have thought of logistic concerns such as how you’d track the progress of the project, how you’d communicate with your collaborators, and how you’d ensure the project progressed through different stages. For some advice on how to manage a big team science project, see these slides.
Big team science