The transition from an individual science to a collective one: The case of astronomy

Abstract

The trend toward collectivization in Astronomy during this century (1901–1996), as measured by the increase in the number of authors per paper, is analyzed. For this purpose, two leading astronomical journals:The Astrophysical Journal andMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society are surveyed. It is found that the average number of authors per paper has jumped from a little more than one in the first half of this century to about three at present. Most of this dramatic increase has taken place during the last 20–25 years. At the same time, the ratio ofcollective papers (three or more authors) to single-authored ones has passed from nearly zero to 3–4 at present. The latter means that collective papers were almost nonexistent until the fifties or sixties to become nowadays 3–4 times more frequent than single-authored ones. The reasons underlying the collectivization of Astronomy (and perhaps of all natural sciences) are analyzed. The growing professionalization of science accompanied by a massive influx of graduate studients into University research institutes, the revolution in communication, the pressure to publish in order to progress in a scientific career, and the growing complexity of knowledge are invoked as causes for the abandonment of the traditional individualism in science to a collective regime.