Collaboration networks in agricultural research in Uruguay: An exploration based on social network analysis

Abstract

Scientific collaboration networks connect researchers across institutions and academic disciplines. Agricultural research involves multiple stakeholders and academic disciplines to address increasingly complex and diverse research agendas. However, the dynamics of collaboration and the patterns of interaction in the agricultural sciences have been little investigated. Uruguay has a rich tradition in agricultural research, but little is known about the ways in which institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration occur and have evolved recently. This article uses relational data from projects documented in researchers’ vitas (CVs) to examine patterns of collaboration in agricultural research in Uruguay during the period 2000–2017. Collaboration networks were explored with social network analysis (SNA) resulting in networks involving varied institutions and academic disciplines. An inter-institutional network with a center and periphery structure is revealed with long-standing science and technology centers as the fundamental nodes. Interdisciplinary collaborations show diversification over time with more academic fields involved in research projects in the agricultural sciences. Joint research between agricultural sciences and other academic fields to address complex current phenomena could benefit from increasing connections with multiple fields in the environmental, social, and health sciences. The study shows the usefulness of SNA and research project data to improve the understanding of collaboration patterns in agricultural research.