Library Help: Office For Open Research

Why research collaboration matters

Research collaborations bring together diverse expertise, perspectives, and resources—often resulting in more innovative, interdisciplinary, and high-impact outcomes. Collaborative work can:

• Increase the visibility and reach of research

• Strengthen funding bids and citation performance

• Support strategic partnerships across institutions and sectors

• Advance institutional goals related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and internationalisation

Accessing research collaboration data

Collaboration metrics can provide valuable insights into how individuals, groups, or institutions work together. These indicators can help you:

• Report on collaboration activity at local, national, or international levels

• Identify emerging partnerships or strategic opportunities

• Locate potential collaborators by topic, region, or institution

• Understand the role of collaboration in citation performance (with appropriate context)

 Example: A breakdown of institutional collaboration data generated using SciVal

Using SciVal for collaboration analysis

SciVal (based on Scopus data) offers comprehensive tools for exploring collaboration patterns.

You can:

• Analyse domestic and international collaboration rates

• View co-authorship networks by country, institution, or research area

• Identify potential collaborators based on research topics or themes

• Explore how collaboration links to citation performance (e.g. FWCI), supporting responsible impact analysis

In SciVal, collaboration data is accessible in both the Explore and Compare modules.

• How to locate potential collaborators using SciVal
• Geographical collaboration metrics in SciVal

Contact us if you'd like support using SciVal for collaboration analysis or partner identification.
 

Using InCites for collaboration insights

InCites (based on Web of Science data) offers a complementary perspective on research collaboration.

Key features include:

• Collab-CNCI (Category Normalised Citation Impact): Compares the citation impact of collaborative research to global averages within subject areas

• Breakdown of domestic vs. international collaboration rates

• Analysis of institutional and geographic co-authorship trends

• Time-based views of collaboration patterns across disciplines

InCites is particularly useful for:

• Evaluating the impact of existing partnerships

• Supporting strategic decisions about where and how to build collaborations

• Providing evidence for research culture, REF narratives, or funding applications

To explore collaboration data in InCites or understand how to interpret Collab-CNCI, please contact the Research Indicators team.

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Responsible use of data

As with all research indicators, collaboration metrics should be interpreted in context. They offer useful insight into activity and connections, but they do not capture the full quality, equity, or purpose of collaborative work. We recommend using these indicators alongside qualitative information or narrative descriptions where possible.