A comparison study of educational scientific collaboration in China and the USA

Education is not only a guarantee of personal knowledge, but also a topic of national importance. In this paper, we analyzed the scientific papers published by authors from China and the United States in 239 educational journals over a period of 20 years (2000–2019). We first extracted the topic of each paper via the Latent Dirichlet allocation model, which demonstrated significant differences in specific sub-fields between both countries. Next, we constructed two networks of scientific collaboration among the educators of each country. By analyzing these networks’ topological properties, we show both countries’ differences and common features. Regarding individuals, Chinese educators collaborate widely, whereas American educators are more likely to collaborate in certain groups. Regarding groups, there exists an optimal team size for producing highly popular papers in both countries.