Asymmetric consolidation in a research field: A longitudinal scientometric analysis of Chile-associated engineering education research, 2015-2025

Abstract Publication growth is often interpreted as evidence that a research field is maturing, yet cumulative bibliometric indicators can obscure whether social, organizational, and cognitive structures reproduce over time. This study introduces asymmetric consolidation as a multilayer scientometric diagnostic and applies it to 451 publications associated through author affiliation with engineering education research in Chile. Primary longitudinal analyses covered 2015–2024; 2025 was retained as a descriptive extension. The design combined periodized author and institutional networks, incidence-preserving global-mixing null models, publication and collaboration models, author-keyword mapping, reference co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and a purposive content-validation sample of 55 publications. Annual output rose from 24 publications in 2015 to 51 in 2024, but the author-network giant component remained near 9%-12% across comparable periods and author and tie retention were low. Institutional projections were substantially more connected than author networks, although recurrent institutional ties were not unusually persistent relative to the cumulative null benchmark. The keyword-supported subset showed limited temporal overlap, and contemporary coupling fronts differed markedly in their connection to shared co-citation bases. These results show that growth, social integration, organizational aggregation, and cognitive continuity can develop at different rates. Asymmetric consolidation therefore provides a cross-layer, temporally explicit alternative to inferring field maturity from publication volume, cumulative connectivity, or thematic diversification alone. MSC: 91D30; 62P25 JEL: I23; O30