1
Interdisciplinary work
Joint work combining expertise from different fields.
Example
The discovery resulted from collaboration between astronomers and computer scientists.
collaboration
/kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən/ · kuh-lab-uh-RAY-shuhnnoun
The act of working jointly with other people or groups.
Use collaboration when participants contribute knowledge, labour, or resources toward a shared project or outcome.
What collaboration Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Institutional partnership
Cooperation between organisations sharing data, facilities, or responsibility.
Example
International collaboration accelerated the vaccine study.
3
Creative partnership
A project shaped through the contributions of two or more creators.
Example
The exhibition was a collaboration between the sculptor and a sound designer.
Use collaboration Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
International collaboration accelerated the vaccine study.
Close collaboration between engineers and residents improved the flood plan.
The database emerged from a research collaboration spanning six universities.
Precision Matters
Collaboration overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
collaboration
vs.Usually involves active joint production of a shared result.
cooperation
Broadly means acting helpfully together or avoiding conflict.
collaboration
vs.Describes the act or process of working together.
partnership
Describes the relationship or formal arrangement between parties.
collaboration
vs.Combines participants' contributions to create something jointly.
coordination
Organises separate actions so they work efficiently together.
collaboration
vs.Concerns shared work.
consensus
Concerns shared agreement and may occur without joint production.
Test collaboration in Context
Experts from two disciplines worked jointly toward one result.
1
The new catalogue combined astronomical observations with machine-learning analysis and therefore depended on ___ between astronomers and computer scientists.