How may I say something has been done by a group of people? Is "a group study" correct to refer to a study performed by a group of people? If not, what are the alternatives?
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4 Answers
Using group as an adjective is grammatical, as in group effort, but there can be an ambiguity: is a "group study" a study of a group or a study by a group? It is often used to refer to the former.
For the sake of clarity, you might want to say "The study was undertaken by a group... " and then go on to identify or describe the group in some way.
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... or a study which uses a method that involves groups? Compare a statistical study. Commented Jun 14, 2015 at 11:00
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The classification of group as an adjective when used prenominally is contentious. Collins has group n 1. a number of persons or things considered as a collective unit 2. (Sociology) a. a number of persons bound together by common social standards, interests, etc b. (as modifier): group behaviour ... Commented Jun 14, 2015 at 13:40
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@Edwin Ashworth: Do you mean that "group" in, for example, "group behavior" is regarded by some as a noun used attributively and by others as something else?– TimRCommented Jun 14, 2015 at 13:52
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Yes; the majority view here on ELU seems to be for attributive noun. It gets difficult somewhere around 'steel bridge'. Commented Jun 14, 2015 at 14:00
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@Edwin Ashworth: a substantial issue for some, and not for others.– TimRCommented Jun 14, 2015 at 14:15
Whilst I cannot think of an adverb which applies to something having been done by a specific group, collectively would be a suitable one to indicate that a group, in a loose sense, had been involved.
If you wanted to say, for example, that the new library facilities had been provided by the Literacy Group, you could say that they were not the work of a single individual but were a group-wide achievement.
OED lists three adjectival derivatives of group...
grouped - Arranged, placed, or situated in a group or groups; forming a group or groups.
Most recent citation 2000 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 24 Feb. 29/1:
Enright later found affinities with ‘the Movement’—a loosely grouped school of poets that advocated terseness and public subjects in verse.groupist - Characterized by the desire or tendency to belong to a group; (also) that tends to view people as members of a group, rather than as individuals.
Most recent citation 2005 R. Brubaker in J. Adams et al. Remaking Modernity v. 472
Everyday talk..routinely [frames]..accounts of ethnic, racial, and national conflict in groupist terms as the struggles ‘of’ ethnic groups, races, and nations.groupy - Of the nature of or characteristic of a group or groups; spec. (somewhat depreciative) characteristic of the Oxford Group1 movement or its members (now rare).
Most recent citation 2010 S. T. Fiske Social Beings (ed. 2) xii. 483
They perceive themselves as more groupy, more of a psychological unit or entity, if the elevator stalls, because they develop a common fate.
Plus obviously the root word itself can be used attributively as a noun adjunct in, for example, We made a group decision and We conducted a group study. In such usages, the exact relationship between the adjunct and the main noun depends on context (so those could be decisions or studies by or of a group or groups).
1 Oxford Group Movement - A religious revivalist movement founded in 1921 by Frank Buchman (see Buchmanism n.), emphasizing the importance of leading a spiritual life under the guidance of God, and characterized esp. by the discussion of one's moral dilemmas and failings in small groups.
answered Jun 14, 2015 at 14:01
In some contexts it's called teamwork.
Teamwork is "work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole". (Wikipedia)
E.g. Barcelona's 3-1 win over Juventus in the UCL 2015 Final was undoubtedly such triumph that was built on teamwork.
And
You will find that the professional actors will read the lines with such feeling that the text will be easier to understand. Teamwork Study a difficult section of a textbook with a friend.
Other alternatives are collaboration, cooperation and coordination.
