Lucy Xiaolu Wang Co-Authors Article on Improving Online Collaborative Research

Content

Lucy Xiaolu Wang, resource economics, recently co-authored a new article in The Conversation with Ann-Christin Kreyer, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, on lessons learned about online collaborative research from The Human Brain Project. The project, which began in 2013 with a budget of $1.3billion and the support of the European Commission's Future and Emerging Technologies program, sought to digitize the human brain in the span of ten years. 

Unfortunately, the program suffered from the beginning from controversy among neuroscientists worldwide. The initial program lacked a clear vision and researchers debated whether the project focused more on neuroscience or computer science. Only a couple of years into the program, a group of over 800 neuroscientists signed an open letter calling for a reorganization of the endeavor. In 2015, the program was revamped with a clearer focus – to develop a European digital research infrastructure to advance brain science and create "brain-inspired information technology." 

As the program comes to an end, Wang and Kreyer explore the lessons learned. The reorganization of the program clearly had an effect, and improved digital infrastructure allowed for a more streamlined process for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among researchers. 

"Questions about programming related to the project’s core research areas gathered more attention, active discussion and faster resolution. While questions that attracted users from many countries are discussed more actively, they took longer to resolve. Problems with administrator support were solved faster overall. Patterns of online interaction did not significantly differ by project affiliation status, gender or seniority level," writes Wang and Kreyer. 

The entire article can be found at The Conversation.