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A ranking of universities should account for differences in their disciplinary specialization

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen López-Illescas

    (SCImago Unit, IPP, CCHS, CSIC, Spanish National Research Council)

  • Félix Moya-Anegón

    (SCImago Unit, IPP, CCHS, CSIC, Spanish National Research Council)

  • Henk F. Moed

    (Elsevier)

Abstract

A bibliometric analysis of the 50 most frequently publishing Spanish universities shows large differences in the publication activity and citation impact among research disciplines within an institution. Gini Index is a useful measure of an institution’s disciplinary specialization and can roughly categorize universities in terms of general versus specialized. A study of the Spanish academic system reveals that assessment of a university’s research performance must take into account the disciplinary breadth of its publication activity and citation impact. It proposes the use of graphs showing not only a university’s article production and citation impact, but also its disciplinary specialization. Such graphs constitute both a warning and a remedy against one-dimensional approaches to the assessment of institutional research performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen López-Illescas & Félix Moya-Anegón & Henk F. Moed, 2011. "A ranking of universities should account for differences in their disciplinary specialization," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(2), pages 563-574, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:88:y:2011:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-011-0398-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0398-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. H F Moed & Th N van Leeuwen & M S Visser, 1999. "Trends in publication output and impact of universities in the Netherlands," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 60-67, April.
    2. Clara Calero-Medina & Carmen López-Illescas & Martijn S Visser & Henk F Moed, 2008. "Important factors when interpreting bibliometric rankings of world universities: an example from oncology," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 71-81, March.
    3. Jamil Salmi, 2009. "The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2600.
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    1. Daraio, Cinzia & Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Simar, Léopold, 2015. "Efficiency and economies of scale and specialization in European universities: A directional distance approach," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 430-448.
    2. Ludo Waltman & Clara Calero-Medina & Joost Kosten & Ed C.M. Noyons & Robert J.W. Tijssen & Nees Jan Eck & Thed N. Leeuwen & Anthony F.J. Raan & Martijn S. Visser & Paul Wouters, 2012. "The Leiden ranking 2011/2012: Data collection, indicators, and interpretation," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(12), pages 2419-2432, December.
    3. Félix Moya-Anegón & Carmen López-Illescas & Henk F. Moed, 2014. "How to interpret the position of private sector institutions in bibliometric rankings of research institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(1), pages 283-298, January.
    4. Chi, Pei-Shan, 2016. "Differing disciplinary citation concentration patterns of book and journal literature?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 814-829.
    5. Hiran H. Lathabai & Abhirup Nandy & Vivek Kumar Singh, 2021. "x-index: Identifying core competency and thematic research strengths of institutions using an NLP and network based ranking framework," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(12), pages 9557-9583, December.
    6. Mauro G. Carta & Matthias C. Angermeyer & Silvano Tagliagambe, 2021. "The Trend of Scientific Productivity of Chinese, European Union, and United States Universities and Private Companies: Does the Future Belong to E-Technology Companies?," Publications, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Guo Chen & Lu Xiao & Chang-ping Hu & Xue-qin Zhao, 2015. "Identifying the research focus of Library and Information Science institutions in China with institution-specific keywords," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(2), pages 707-724, May.
    8. Nicolás Robinson-García & Clara Calero-Medina, 2014. "What do university rankings by fields rank? Exploring discrepancies between the organizational structure of universities and bibliometric classifications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 1955-1970, March.
    9. Yong Yi & Wei Qi & Dandan Wu, 2013. "Are CIVETS the next BRICs? A comparative analysis from scientometrics perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(2), pages 615-628, February.
    10. Renato Bruni & Giuseppe Catalano & Cinzia Daraio & Martina Gregori & Henk F. Moed, 2019. "Studying the Heterogeneity of European Higher Education Institutions," DIAG Technical Reports 2019-12, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    11. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Luca Secondi, 2017. "The determinants of research performance in European universities: a large scale multilevel analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1147-1178, September.
    12. J. A. García & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. Fdez-Valdivia & Daniel Torres-Salinas & Francisco Herrera, 2012. "Ranking of research output of universities on the basis of the multidimensional prestige of influential fields: Spanish universities as a case of study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(3), pages 1081-1099, December.
    13. Chen, Guo & Xiao, Lu, 2016. "Selecting publication keywords for domain analysis in bibliometrics: A comparison of three methods," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 212-223.
    14. Tolga Yuret, 2015. "Interfield comparison of academic output by using department level data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1653-1664, December.
    15. Calabrese, Armando & Capece, Guendalina & Costa, Roberta & Di Pillo, Francesca & Giuffrida, Stefania, 2018. "A ‘power law’ based method to reduce size-related bias in indicators of knowledge performance: An application to university research assessment," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1263-1281.
    16. Maria Cláudia Cabrini Grácio & Ely Francina Tannuri Oliveira & Zaida Chinchilla-Rodríguez & Henk F. Moed, 2020. "Does corresponding authorship influence scientific impact in collaboration: Brazilian institutions as a case of study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1349-1369, November.
    17. Moed, Henk F. & de Moya-Anegón, Félix & López-Illescas, Carmen & Visser, Martijn, 2011. "Is concentration of university research associated with better research performance?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 649-658.
    18. Renato Bruni & Giuseppe Catalano & Cinzia Daraio & Martina Gregori & Henk F. Moed, 2020. "Studying the heterogeneity of European higher education institutions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1117-1144, November.

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