Multi-institutional collaborations -- for instance, an experiment run at a national laboratory by a team from a number of universities -- have become increasingly important to advances in modern science and technology. Despite the significance of these transitory "mini-institutions," little is known about how to document them and meaningful records of such teams have not yet been secured for the use of historians, sociologists, and others studying the research process. This project is the first of a long term project being undertaken by the American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics to study the complex issues facing the documentation of multi-institutional collaborations in physics and allied sciences. This study will identify patterns of collaboration, define the scope of the documentation problems, field-test possible solutions, and recommend future actions. Adding to its own extensive experience, the Center staff will be joined in this work by archivists, historians of science and technology, and sociologists. They will be advised by distinguished scientists, administrators, and other specialists. The focus of this initial study is high-energy physics. Future studies will be in the areas of space science and geophysics. The long-range study will increasingly explore the applications of the project findings to other areas of science and technology and the development of policies and guidelines to improve future documentation.
