Study of the scientific collaboration network in nanotechnology at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

Abstract The study of scientific collaboration allows us to observe, for instance, results that can guide research management in an organization. In this sense, the objective of this study is to analyze the network for scientific collaboration in nanotechnology at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, and the evolution thereof, since this is a field which has produced innovative results for Brazilian agribusiness. To this end, the methodology of Social Network Analysis was used in order to identify co-authorship connections and to analyze the evolution of this network. The origin of the data was Agricultural Research Database (Base de Dados da Pesquisa Agropecuária), which is freely accessible to the public. The analysis was based on scientific production from 2006 to 2014. For the analysis of network evolution, this timeframe was divided into three periods, consisting of the periods from 2006 to 2008, 2009 to 2011, and 2012 to 2014. The results showed that the data represents a significant timeframe for analysis, nearly 10 years, providing the perception that, insofar as the evolution of the network is concerned, it evidently occurred in a gradual manner, highlighting the fact that scientific collaboration in nanotechnology at Embrapa becomes increasingly effective and dynamic.