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Temporal evolution of multi-author papers in basic sciences from 1960 to 2010

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Abstract

This work studies the trends of co-author numbers in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, from 1960 to 2010. Journal data are analyzed to show the common trends across the disciplines. The single-author papers decline continuously over the years. The multi-author papers rise and fall following one another in succession. The data suggest that small-group collaborations in different disciplines go through the same stages at different times. Besides the common trends, the dramatic growth of the co-author number in Physics after 1990 is also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-li, Taiwan

    Ding-wei Huang

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  1. Ding-wei Huang
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Correspondence to Ding-wei Huang.

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Huang, Dw. Temporal evolution of multi-author papers in basic sciences from 1960 to 2010. Scientometrics 105, 2137–2147 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1760-x

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