BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the co-authorship networks in three successful Iranian academic research centers, in order to find the association between the scientific productivity and impact indicators with network features in a case study. METHODS: We searched for English articles of the three research centers. We drew co-authorship maps of each center and calculated social network measures. RESULTS: The collaboration networks in centers shared many structural features, including a "star-like" pattern of relations. Centers with more successful scientific profile showed denser and more cooperative networks. Key figures in each center were interviewed for their understandings of the reasons for the emergence of these patterns. CONCLUSION: Star shape network structure and dependency on a single big member is a common feature observed in our case study. Scientific output measures correlate with the network structure of research centers. Network analysis seems a useful method to explore the subtle scientific contexts in research organizations.