Adachi Takeya, Narimatsu Norika, Ogawa Yasushi, Toriya Masako, Fukushi Tamami, Shirabe Masashi, Futamura Masaki, Inomata Takenori, Kainuma Keigo, Kan-O Keiko, Kurashima Yosuke, Masaki Katsunori, Nakajima Saeko, Sakashita Masafumi, Sato Sakura, Tamari Mayumi, Morita Hideaki, Koizumi Amane
Department of Dermatology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Allergy Center, Keio University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
World Allergy Organ J. 2024 Dec 12;18(1):101004. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2024.101004. eCollection 2025 Jan.
This study examined the relationship between the disciplinary diversity of research teams and research output (RO) in allergy and immunology programs funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States, Medical Research Council (MRC) in the United Kingdom, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
Using a dataset containing 1243, 3645, and 1468 articles funded by the NIH, MRC, and JSPS, respectively, we analyzed the correlation between disciplinary diversity and RO in allergy and immunology programs that received grants from 2017 to 2021. Diversity was measured using All Science Journal Classification codes counts, Shannon-Wiener index, and newly developed Omnidisciplinary index (o-index). The impact of diversity on RO was evaluated Normalized Paper Count (reflecting research quantity), Normalized Top 1% Paper Count (reflecting research excellence), and Normalized Top 10% Paper Count (reflecting research substantiality).
There were no significant differences in diversity between the funding agencies, indicating a marginal relationship between team composition and RO (p = 0.641 for Shannon-Winner index). RO was positively correlated with team diversity in NIH- and MRC-funded programs and positively correlated with the degree of specialization in JSPS-funded programs.
These results underscore the complexity of the relationship between research team diversity and RO and the influence of contextual factors such as country-specific characteristics and grant program objectives. Specifically, the analysis of JSPS-funded groups suggests that the degree of specialization has a greater impact on RO than disciplinary diversity. This study contributes to ongoing efforts to optimize team composition to improve RO in allergy and immunology programs.
本研究考察了美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）、英国医学研究理事会（MRC）和日本学术振兴会（JSPS）资助的过敏与免疫学项目中，研究团队的学科多样性与研究产出（RO）之间的关系。
我们分别使用包含由NIH、MRC和JSPS资助的1243篇、3645篇和1468篇文章的数据集，分析了2017年至2021年获得资助的过敏与免疫学项目中学科多样性与RO之间的相关性。多样性通过所有科学期刊分类代码计数、香农 - 维纳指数和新开发的跨学科指数（o指数）来衡量。多样性对RO的影响通过归一化论文计数（反映研究数量）、归一化前1%论文计数（反映研究卓越性）和归一化前10%论文计数（反映研究实质性）来评估。
资助机构之间在多样性方面没有显著差异，表明团队组成与RO之间的关系微弱（香农 - 维纳指数p = 0.641）。在NIH和MRC资助的项目中，RO与团队多样性呈正相关，而在JSPS资助的项目中，RO与专业化程度呈正相关。
这些结果强调了研究团队多样性与RO之间关系的复杂性，以及特定国家特征和资助项目目标等背景因素的影响。具体而言，对JSPS资助组的分析表明，专业化程度对RO的影响大于学科多样性。本研究有助于正在进行的优化团队组成以提高过敏与免疫学项目中RO的努力。
