How small-team science differs from big group work

Here’s an interesting new finding that caught my eye: Science carried out by big teams can look a lot different than science produced by smaller groups. Researchers analyzed millions of papers, patents, and products from 1954 to 2014 and scored their “disruptiveness.” They found that small teams tend to disrupt science by exploring older, less well-known work. On the flip side, large teams flesh out recent scientific successes by sharpening and solving problems with them. Another observation: Papers that detail Nobel prize-winning work are among the most disruptive. “Both small and large teams are essential to a flourishing ecology of science and technology," the authors write.