COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL-SCIENCES - MULTIPLE AUTHORSHIP AND PUBLICATION CREDIT

Objective. This paper measures the extent of research collaboration an d multiple authorship found in published articles of social scientists . Issues relating to coauthorship are outlined, and related empirical tests are conducted. Methods. Thirteen social science journals from a variety of disciplines are surveyed. Multiple authorship and name orde r of research articles are identified and aggregated. Results. Nearly half of all social science articles have joint authors. Disciplines ca n be characterized by different styles of collaboration. A significant portion of social science researchers list authorship in alphabetic o rder. Conclusions. Social science research relies heavily on collabora tive activities. Patterns of credited authorship seem influenced by a discipline's norms as well as its research methodology.