As business life has become increasingly social, the ability for employees to collaborate effectively, both with each other and with external parties, has become increasingly important.

This has led to a host of tools and platforms emerging to help that process along.  Researchers from Northwestern University felt that none of the commercial platforms really did the job for research based collaborations, so they went and built one themselves.

The platform, called Pair Research, is free to use, and aims to help researchers work effectively in teams and overcome productivity blocks.

“Sometimes students don’t realize that they need help,” the developers say. “And when they realize they do need help, they don’t know where to find it. We wanted to develop a way for our students to better support each other.”

Collaborative research

The platform aims to simplify the process of asking for, and receiving help.  Users type in their request for help together with the approximate amount of time required to accomplish the task.  Other researchers can then respond to the request together with a rating from one to five of their ability to complete the task.

They are then matched up via an algorithm that is designed to produce the most effective collaborative pairings.

“It makes use of expertise in the most effective way possible,” the developers say. “Pairs are matched to help each other, so reciprocity is built into the system. Over time, this reciprocity builds a more supportive community.”

The concept aimed to digitize a more analog process that was born in 2014 when researchers began to pair up with students to work together on each others projects.  This early version was little more than a spreadsheet, but the team quickly realized its potential for something more.

“The spreadsheet was difficult to share,” they say. “We want research groups everywhere in any field to be able to use the tool to promote collaboration and communication.”

The platform has already been used by both students and faculty members, with positive initial feedback.  Users have found that it not only helps them to be more productive, but the algorithm also finds them unexpected research partners.  The algorithm is designed to provoke new connections and thus expose students to different perspectives, whilst ensuring they are still paired with the right skill sets.  The tool has helped to foster a real community spirit in the lab.

“Many students feel like they need to lead their own project,” the team conclude. “Normalizing the struggle of working alone and not asking for help is detrimental to productivity and learning. I want my students to be willing to help each other. Who wouldn’t want that?”

The challenge now will be to see if the platform can gain similar traction in labs throughout the world.  Time will tell just how effective it is in that endeavor.