Collaboration or Isolation? Disciplinary Dynamics in Sociology

In the social sciences, the discipline of sociology has not been actively involved in establishing collaboration among its members. Drawing on information from the abstracts of 4,491 papers presented at the 20^th World Congress of Sociology in Melbourne in 2023, which were manually collected from the published abstract volume and the metadata of the papers were captured in the SPSS program, this paper analyses collaborative trends in sociological research and pathways of the discipline of sociology globally. This study examines the impact of author composition on the diversity of themes addressed and methodologies employed in papers on collaboration. It examines the effects of collaboration on the production of academic papers, demonstrating how presenters from different countries are involved in collaborative research to shape the thematic focus and contextual relevance of their work. Through this analysis, this paper aims to provide insights into the dynamics of authorship in the academic landscape. The analysis reveals patterns in knowledge production within sociology, highlighting how presenters' collaborations are shaped by the themes, methodologies, and contexts of their studies. The analysis revealed that the mean number of authors per paper was below two, and most presenters originated from only a few countries. The analysis identified seven key areas around which the papers were presented, which were aligned with the country of affiliation of presenters. A majority (two-thirds) of the papers were based on empirical data. Themes also determined the methodology adopted. The collaboration of authors, as reflected in the regression models, was influenced by control variables such as themes, methodology, and country of affiliation. The findings suggest distinct ways presenters connect and collaborate based on the nature of their research. The paper contributes to an understanding of how sociologists worldwide collaborate to make joint presentations at significant forums, such as international conferences. The paper offers insights into how the interests of presenters, in terms of topics, methodology, and research contexts, influence joint presentations and collaborations, thereby paving the way for future research collaborations.