Theory of collaboration and collaborative measures

Abstract

The paper discusses earlier attempts by Ajiferuke, Burrell, & Tague and by Englisch to define a single measure of collaboration. We show that the variables used in these papers are too rough and propose finer variables. We then formulate collaborative principles that good collaborative measures should satisfy and examine existing measures. Collaborative principles are designed in such a way that measures satisfying these principles can distinguish between (i.e., have different values for) different collaborative situations. We then present new collaborative measures better than the existing ones, in the sense that they satisfy all the studied collaborative principles. Many examples are presented and practical calculations are executed.