Resumen
This research aimed to analyse the characteristics of scientific publications on the theme of outsourcing in Brazil through a bibliometric analysis and cooperation networks. The sample was composed of 268 articles and classified according to the year of publication, journal of publication, research method and number of citations. It was possible to verify that most publications were concentrated in the last ten years. The Bibliometric Laws analysis identified that most authors published just one article about outsourcing; 33% of publications are focused on 16 journals, and the word outsourcing is the most used as a keyword. The authors also identified that few researchers cooperate, and the relationship between authors is weak. The main contribution of the research is the compilation of more than 30 years of discussions. With coverage of a significant number of databases, the authors make a substantial contribution to future research by consolidating presently available information on the topic of outsourcing.