This graph plots the annual average number of authors per paper in four journals. Simple, and says a lot about how science has changed.
I've run a small-shop lab my whole career, but is that a viable approach for people entering science now?
https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/full/10.1091/mbc.E22-04-0140
@StearnsLab it would be interesting to break down the extent to which increased mean n is due to a) more big labs, b) collaboration between labs, vs c) big data projects. And SD, median and shape of distribution will tell you something. That might give insight into whether a small shop is viable. [Whether it is desirable is a whole 'nother argument]
@richardsever All good points. My money would be on c) and the nature of papers published in the high author journals.
An interesting meta analysis would be to map authors to reviewer and editor requests. With preprints and transparent peer review there might be enough information out there - the limiting factor would be the author contribution statements.
