As regards to university activity, the permanent link among teaching, research and dissemination plays a very important, vital role. Within such context, a fundamental element for the permanent training of the academic staff is their commitment to do research that contribute to generating new knowledge and to improving perspectives for development. Following this reasoning line, this qualitative study looks into the university research environment, and more specifically into the issue of creating links or networks among 19 researchers selected in different disciplines, and the surrounding community and research world. The theoretical framework includes two levels of analysis. The first one presents a sociological view on the relationship between society and science. The second one refers to the underlying psychological aspects in the relationship between individuals and knowledge. Through a phenomenographical approach, its methodology is based on the qualitative tradition. The researchers' own perceptions of their activities surfaced from in-depth interviews. Our results outlined the networks features, the driving forces in their development, their consolidation mechanisms and the way contacts are used and how they influence research. As a conclusion, this study brings forward some final reflections, among which are possible projects for future research.
Higher education; Research environments; Networks; Scientific production