Ecology transformed? A proposed working group to study new forms of scientific collaboration

We propose to examine the organization, functioning and products of selected NCEAS working groups, placing them within the larger contexts of the disciplinary development of ecology and the emergence of new patterns of scientific collaboration. We would do this in two ways. First, we would examine the characteristics and consequences of NCEAS working groups, using interviews, observations and examination of documents (such as publications, proposals, and participants¿ vitae). Second, we would organize a working group to study new forms of scientific collaboration, placing the NCEAS experience within the context of the history of ecology and the contemporary experience of other fields of science. The group would include historians, philosophers, and social scientists currently working on scientific collaboration, electronic communication and related topics. Two main results are anticipated: a specific analysis of NCEAS and its influence on collaboration within the field of ecology, and a coordinated research and writing effort on larger issues in the changing pattern of scientific collaboration.