This research engages concepts and elaborates on relationships inherent to studies on the knowledge production process. We take a neo-Durkheimian approach in casting the notion of social integration and of social regulation as two orthogonally intersecting continuums that structure and influence scientific work in the micro-social context of the scientific laboratory. Our core hypothesis is that joint levels of integration and of regulation set the patterns and rates of output among knowledge producers. Toward this goal, we identify and measure factors encapsulated in mentor-mentee relationships and in the laboratory social environment. To test our hypothesis, we use face-to-face survey data from 294 life scientists in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Using contextual, personal and professional attributes as multivariate statistical controls, our analytical strategy is one of a generalized linear regression model using Poisson and negative binomial functions to adjust for positive skewness of the criterion variables. Publication counts are our criterion variables, while a scale that measures social integration and another that measures social regulation are our main predictors. Our work will shed light on the understanding of how these twin social forces shape the trajectory of individual productive behavior in science.
