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A new methodology for ranking scientific institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Francois Molinari

    (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan)

  • Alain Molinari

    (Université Paul Verlaine)

Abstract

We extend the pioneering work of J. E. Hirsch, the inventor of the h-index, by proposing a simple and seemingly robust approach for comparing the scientific productivity and visibility of institutions. Our main findings are that i) while the h-index is a sensible criterion for comparing scientists within a given field, it does not directly extend to rank institutions of disparate sizes and journals, ii) however, the h-index, which always increases with paper population, has an universal growth rate for large numbers of papers; iii) thus the h-index of a large population of papers can be decomposed into the product of an impact index and a factor depending on the population size, iv) as a complement to the h-index, this new impact index provides an interesting way to compare the scientific production of institutions (universities, laboratories or journals).

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Francois Molinari & Alain Molinari, 2008. "A new methodology for ranking scientific institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 75(1), pages 163-174, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:75:y:2008:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-007-1853-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1853-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gad Saad, 2006. "Exploring the h-index at the author and journal levels using bibliometric data of productive consumer scholars and business-related journals respectively," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 69(1), pages 117-120, October.
    2. Alain Molinari & Jean-Francois Molinari, 2008. "Mathematical aspects of a new criterion for ranking scientific institutions based on the h-index," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 75(2), pages 339-356, May.
    3. Philip Ball, 2005. "Index aims for fair ranking of scientists," Nature, Nature, vol. 436(7053), pages 900-900, August.
    4. Tibor Braun & Wolfgang Glänzel & András Schubert, 2006. "A Hirsch-type index for journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 69(1), pages 169-173, October.
    5. Michael G. Banks, 2006. "An extension of the Hirsch index: Indexing scientific topics and compounds," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 69(1), pages 161-168, October.
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