Assessing collaboration networks in educational research A co-authorship-based social network analysis approach David Andres Munoz Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, and Juan Pablo Queupil and Pablo Fraser Department of Education Policy Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze collaboration networks and their patterns among higher education institutions (HEIs) in Chile and the Latin American region. This will provide evidence to educational managements in order to properly allocate their efforts to improve collaboration. Design/methodology/approach – This quantitative study examines collaboration using a social network analysis (SNA) approach. The main source used to quantify collaboration is co-authorship of scholarly publications retrieved from the Web of Science scientific search engine. Findings – The paper provides evidence that there is a low collaboration rate within-country as well cross-country among HEIs in Latin America. The collaboration network in Chile is highly dependent on two institutions; Pontificia Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile. These institutions are considered leaders of opinion and knowledge facilitators. The density of the whole network is relatively low; only 5 percent of the potential connections exist in the current network. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this paper is that it does not take into account other possible collaborative efforts such as books, manuscripts, or other types of collaboration that do not result in tangible documents. However, co-authorship based on publications has been considered to be a good estimator of collaboration. Practical implications – Collaboration is critical to promote research and increase its capacity. The approach presented in this study is helpful for educational managers in charge of allocating resources to effectively have an impact on collaboration. Decision makers will benefit from the evidence-based results generated by the SNA framework. Originality/value – An understanding of the current status of research collaboration in Latin America allows researchers to detect the main areas of opportunity, which in turn serve to improve future decision making in this area. Keywords Educational management, Latin America, Social network analysis, Chile, Higher education institutions, Collaboration network Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction In recent years, the emergence of collaboration networks between higher education institutions (HEIs) has been one of the predominant topics both in the realm of academic research and in the area of policy making (Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 2006). The challenges brought forward by the pressure of globalization and the shift to a knowledge-based economy has demanded that HEIs adopt new methods that can result in more efficient production and diffusion of knowledge, to which the constitution of individual, inter-institutional, and international International Journal of Educational Management Vol. 30 No. 3, 2016 pp. 416-436 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0951-354X DOI 10.1108/IJEM-11-2014-0154 Received 16 November 2014 Revised 2 March 2015 Accepted 8 April 2015 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-354X.htm 416 IJEM 30,3