ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents an overview of the data sources, measures, and methodological considerations for spatial studies of research collaboration. It describes the spatial patterns of scientific collaboration at several territorial levels. The book focuses on the internationalisation of science, the evolution of global scientific networks, the geographical patterns of collaboration-performance nexus, and the centre-periphery logic of the geography of scientific collaboration. It provides explanations of the driving forces and processes that condition research collaboration in space. The book outlines the theoretical framework for the geography of scientific collaboration. It also provides the processes that govern collaboration on the level of individuals, teams, and organisations, as well as the historical developments that led to the contemporary collaborative turn in science. The book reviews the research collaboration policies.
