Analysis of a scientific network in Mexico

This article reports the results of a quantitative analysis in the environmental network REMA of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), the largest technological university in Mexico, by using network theory. For this, three attributes of centrality were analyzed: degree, intermediation and clustering coefficient. Additionally, the working methods of 231 researcher members at REMA were studied, considering their co-authorship in the scientific production of articles, books, book chapters and theses directed for the period 2009 to 2011 The software used for the study was Cytoscape 2.8.3 It is concluded that this network is formed by islands, which means there is no work among research centers in the alleged network. Researchers with the highest degree and the highest centrality level report a clustering coefficient of “0”, which means that they work individually. Results suggest that this institution must change its resource allocation policies in order to promote collaborative work. Our results are similar to those of other studies in Mexico.