An Anatomy of Collaboration Within the Online Environment

The focus of this chapter is the review of collaboration theory as it applies to the online environment. It will deal with the three terms of cooperation, coordination and collaboration, and in doing so, seek to uncover the differentiating elements of each. By understanding these elements, the chapter provides a clearer appreciation of the factors guiding the use of online technologies in the eResearch environment. In distilling the key elements that allow for the comparison of the three terms, the chapter identifies each term as existing along a progression or scale with cooperation at the start of the scale, coordination in the middle ground and collaboration as high or complex involvement of the particular element. Collaboration, it is argued, is the result of mature manifestations of the elements, not all of which may be required within a particular collaborative engagement, nor be required to exist or operate at equivalent mature levels. The implications for this framework enable an understanding and appreciation of how collaborative online research activity can be measured.