Scientific networks and research groups development: educational Psychology case in Spain during the five-year periods 2004-2008 and 2009-2013

The aim of this study was to identify and understand the changes experienced in the scientific community groups of authors working in Spanish institutions and publishing articles in scientific journals included in the "Educational Psychology" in the Web of Science during the period 2004 till 2013 and its membership and permanence in different research groups. A comparative study of groups and their composition over the five-year periods 2004-2008 and 2009-2013 was performed. The results indicated that there is an increase in the number of researchers and research groups working in the field of educational psychology, which is accompanied by an increase in the number of items, although in some cases the increase in the number of members in the group does not correspond to a significant increase in scientific production. It is noticeable the incorporation of a greater number of Spanish journals in the Web of Science, as are those that concentrate most of the scientific production in this discipline and are responsible to influence growth in the foundation data from the Web of Science of the Spanish scientific production in educational psychology.