P. Atkinson et al., TRAJECTORIES OF COLLABORATION AND COMPETITION IN A MEDICAL DISCOVERY, Science, technology, & human values, 23(3), 1998, pp. 259-284
In 1991, the myotonic dystrophy gene was cloned by researchers from Ca
rdiff London, and elsewhere overseas. This article examines the relati
onships between the different research groups. it shows that the scien
tific collaboration on the myotonic dystrophy research was not a const
ant, stable feature of scientific progress but a process whereby the r
elationships among the scientists altered over time according to the s
tage of the research. This process was mediated by vested interests, b
y personalities, by the power differentials of the groups, by the reso
urces of the groups, by subcollaborations, and by interactions with th
ose outside the main research network. The collaboration can be seen a
s a continuum, ranging from full cooperation with all parties to selec
ted revelations to specific parties to intense competition. These coop
erative and competitive relationships are seen primarily from the pers
pective of one research group, with whom intensive field research was
conducted.