Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum.
This paper analyzes user interactions on the public-access online forum of the Human Brain Project (HBP), a major European Union-funded neuroscience research initiative, to understand the utility of the Forum for collaborative problem solving. We construct novel data using discussion forum posts and...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402 |
| _version_ | 1797953995184013312 |
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| author | Ann-Christin Kreyer Lucy Xiaolu Wang |
| author_facet | Ann-Christin Kreyer Lucy Xiaolu Wang |
| author_sort | Ann-Christin Kreyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper analyzes user interactions on the public-access online forum of the Human Brain Project (HBP), a major European Union-funded neuroscience research initiative, to understand the utility of the Forum for collaborative problem solving. We construct novel data using discussion forum posts and detailed user profiles on the HBP Forum. We find that HBP Forum utilization is comparable to that of a leading general-interest coding platform, and that online usage metrics quickly recovered after an initial Covid-19-related dip. Regression results show that user interactions on the Forum are more active for questions on programming and in HBP core areas. Further, Cox proportional hazard analyses show that such problems are solved faster. Forum posts with users from different countries tend to be discussed more actively but solved slower. Higher shares of administrator support tend to solve problems faster. There are no clear patterns regarding gender and seniority. Our results suggest that building novel collaborative forums can support researchers working on complex topics in challenging times. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:10:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0905c7a4fae94f3e98a670b72bb14345 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:10:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-0905c7a4fae94f3e98a670b72bb143452023-01-13T05:31:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712e027840210.1371/journal.pone.0278402Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum.Ann-Christin KreyerLucy Xiaolu WangThis paper analyzes user interactions on the public-access online forum of the Human Brain Project (HBP), a major European Union-funded neuroscience research initiative, to understand the utility of the Forum for collaborative problem solving. We construct novel data using discussion forum posts and detailed user profiles on the HBP Forum. We find that HBP Forum utilization is comparable to that of a leading general-interest coding platform, and that online usage metrics quickly recovered after an initial Covid-19-related dip. Regression results show that user interactions on the Forum are more active for questions on programming and in HBP core areas. Further, Cox proportional hazard analyses show that such problems are solved faster. Forum posts with users from different countries tend to be discussed more actively but solved slower. Higher shares of administrator support tend to solve problems faster. There are no clear patterns regarding gender and seniority. Our results suggest that building novel collaborative forums can support researchers working on complex topics in challenging times.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402 |
| spellingShingle | Ann-Christin Kreyer Lucy Xiaolu Wang Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. PLoS ONE |
| title | Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. |
| title_full | Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. |
| title_fullStr | Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. |
| title_short | Collaborating neuroscience online: The case of the Human Brain Project forum. |
| title_sort | collaborating neuroscience online the case of the human brain project forum |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402 |
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