Collaboration tool | Best used for ... |
---|---|
Wiki | Creating a reference source drawing on the collective experience of collaborators |
Mailing list | Working out the solution to a problem; planning; brainstorming; exchanging ideas requiring explanation, clarification, extended discussion; generating material for the wiki |
Blog | Reporting on progress to other team members, or to the Internet at large; sharing stories, novel experiences, plans; providing coordinators with a timeline of tasks as they are completed |
Microblog | Forwarding links, references; outreach; keeping track of people active in areas relevant to the project; chatting, answering simple questions; appealing to the entire group for help, for instance, with finding a reference, using a lab apparatus, locating a site |
Versioning software | Cooperating on revising, writing a manuscript; merging changes of different authors, flagging conflicting revisions. Authors need not exchange drafts; all authors can work on the document simultaneously |
Social networking | Learning about people and their relationships; discovering potential collaborators; recognizing skills and knowledge among individuals not associated with one another in other ways |
Shared bibliography | Pooling knowledge of the literature; establishing a common intellectual, scholarly background, designating certain works as central to the project; formatting references and citations when creating manuscripts; Sharing with others outside the group |