Academic collaboration on large language model studies increases overall but varies across disciplines

Abstract

Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for addressing complex scientific challenges. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have shown significant potential in benefiting researchers across various fields. To explore the application of LLMs in scientific disciplines and their implications for interdisciplinary collaboration, we collect and analyze 50,391 papers from OpenAlex, an open-source platform for scholarly metadata. We first employ Shannon entropy to assess the diversity of collaboration in terms of authors' institutions and departments. Our results reveal that most fields have exhibited varying degrees of increased entropy following the release of ChatGPT, with Computer Science displaying a consistent increase. Other fields such as Social Science, Decision Science, Psychology, Engineering, Health Professions, and Business, Management & Accounting have shown minor to significant increases in entropy in 2024 compared to 2023. Statistical testing further indicates that the entropy in Computer Science, Decision Science, and Engineering is significantly lower than that in health-related fields like Medicine and Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology. In addition, our network analysis based on authors' affiliation information highlights the prominence of Computer Science, Medicine, and other Computer Science-related departments in LLM research. Regarding authors' institutions, our analysis reveals that entities such as Stanford University, Harvard University, University College London, and Google are key players, either dominating centrality measures or playing crucial roles in connecting research networks. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the current landscape and evolving dynamics of collaboration networks in LLM research.