Research Infrastructure for Collaborative Team Science: Challenges in Technology-Supported Workflows in and Across...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Health informatics
• Systems biology

Background:

• Collaborative research presents unique challenges in aligning diverse scientific practices and analytical reasoning.
• Effective integration of technology and organizational support is crucial for enhancing collaborative problem-solving capabilities.
• Existing research under-explores the specific technological needs within complex scientific workflows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the workflow of collaborating scientists in systems-level renal disease research.
• To identify and describe the necessary technology and organizational supports for each phase of the research workflow.
• To lay the groundwork for a research capability framework that facilitates mutual understanding between scientists and technologists.

Main Methods:

• Literature synthesis and analysis of existing research practices.
• Characterization of a hypothetical workflow for systems-level renal disease research.
• Identification of technology and organizational supports required across different workflow phases.

Main Results:

• Detailed description of a multi-phase research workflow, from primary to secondary analysis.
• Highlighting of specific technology and organizational supports needed at each stage.
• Preliminary survey of supports matching collaborators' analytical needs to technological solutions.

Conclusions:

• Effective alignment of research practices with appropriate technologies is essential for successful collaboration.
• Understanding the specific needs of scientific workflows is critical for developing supportive technological infrastructures.
• The proposed framework aims to improve mutual understanding and enable enhanced collaborative research capabilities.