Analysis of the spatial dynamics of intra- v.s. inter- research collaborations across countries

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolutionary pattern of international research collaborations. Using publication data from 1997 to 2012, this study decomposes international collaborations into two complementary types: intra-collaboration (within the same geographical area) and inter-collaboration (across different geographical areas). Our results show that the geographical concentration of international research collaborations is reducing. The formation of new network structures of international research collaborations is driven by the increase of inter-research collaborations of countries across different geographical areas rather than intra-collaborations of countries within the same geographical area. These findings enhance the understanding of the dynamic features in the global research network, which can support fruitful research policies at country level and improve the strategy of collaborative academic research.