Response Surface Methodology and its application in evaluating scientific activity

The possibilities of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) has been explored within the ambit of Scientific Activity Analysis. The case of the system Departments of the Area of Health Sciences of the University of Navarre (Spain) has been studied in relation to the system Scientific Community in the Health Sciences, from the perspective of input/output models (factors/response). It is concluded that the RSM reveals the causal relationships between factors and responses through the construction of polynomial mathematical models. Similarly, quasiexperimental designs are proposed, these permitting scientific activity to be analysed with minimum effort and cost and high accuracy.