Comparing fields of sciences: multilevel networks of research collaborations in Italian academia

In this chapter we want to identify a suitable approach that can be applied to the study of scientific collaborations. In other words, we are interested in modelling the multilevel structure of scientific work, looking at social networks of collaborations between scientists, and at how these networks are embedded in disciplinary and organizational levels. Once the relational structure of scientific collaboration is described, we want to see if it plays a role in scholars' success. We adopt the structural approach of Lazega et al. (2008) and analyze the local system of public funding to academic disciplines in Italy using bipartite networks. Such analysis has been already done for the two academic areas of physics (Bellotti 2012) and philosophy (Bellotti 2014). Here we extend the analysis to all the areas of research in Italian Academia, in order to compare the results across different scientific fields. By doing this, we observe the variability of structural effects across disciplinary areas, that we expect to be organized in different but comparable ways. In particular, previous analysis of physicists and philosophers showed in both cases the overarching importance of academic ranks and of brokerage roles in obtaining research funding, together with some other interesting effects, like the less impacting but still significant importance of working with a long term established group of colleagues, and the advantages of working on specific sub-disciplines (Bellotti 2012 and 2014).