title: International collaboration in medical radiation science.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  International collaboration is recognised for enhancing the ability to approach complex problems from a variety of perspectives, increasing development of a wider range of research skills and techniques and improving publication and acceptance rates. The aim of this paper is to describe the current status of international collaboration in medical radiation science and compare this to other allied health occupations.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study utilised a content analysis approach where co-authorship of a journal article was used as a proxy for research collaboration and the papers were assigned to countries based on the corporate address given in the by-line of the publication. A convenience sample method was employed and articles published in the professional medical radiation science journals in the countries represented within our research team - Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) were sampled. Physiotherapy, speech pathology, occupational therapy and nursing were chosen for comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rates of international collaboration in medical radiation science journals from Australia, the UK and the USA have steadily increased over the 3-year period sampled. Medical radiation science demonstrated lower average rates of international collaboration than the other allied health occupations sampled. The average rate of international collaboration in nursing was far below that of the allied health occupations sampled. Overall, the UK had the highest average rate of international collaboration, followed by Australia and the USA, the lowest.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, medical radiation science is lagging in international collaboration in comparison to other allied health fields.
authors.affiliation: Hunter New England Health Taree New South Wales Australia.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2038-9709
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Denham
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri Columbia Missouri USA.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: University of East Anglia Norwich Norfolk United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001319:Authorship; D007391:International Cooperation; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011859:Radiography; D011871:Radiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States
keywords: Allied health occupations; authorship; cooperative behaviour; international collaboration; organisational affiliation