The Research Ecosystem: Disarticulation between Academic Production and Social Impact in Mexican Research Groups and their Researchers

Abstract

This study examines how six dimensions of scientific work—research, publication, academic dissemination, public communication of science, collaboration with external stakeholders, and social contribution—relate to one another in 25 academic groups at four Mexican higher education institutions. The study used a qualitative, descriptive, cross-sectional design with semi-structured interviews with group members (112 participants reported). The authors coded interview transcripts thematically and compared them with publicly available academic outputs. The analysis focused on reported practices and perceived obstacles; it did not estimate actual working-time allocation. In the groups studied, references to research and publication were more frequent than references to public communication, collaboration, and social contribution. Nine of the 112 participants reported producing material for non-specialist audiences in the preceding year; three of the 25 groups reported operational collaboration agreements. Participants described administrative burdens and difficulties connecting with external stakeholders. The Integral Ecosystem Model is proposed as a framework for planning across the six dimensions; its usefulness remains to be evaluated. Non-probability sampling prevents statistical generalization to Mexican academic groups as a whole.