Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
University Rankings:
An overview of research indicators
used in rankings instruments
International Activities Committee – June 12, 2014
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Institutional Rankings of Interest

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds)

THE (Times Higher Education)

ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities)

Maclean’s

Research Infosource
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Institutional Rankings of Interest

Each instrument has its own indicators to
measure academic performance

Indicators generally fall into four categories:
1.
Reputation
2.
Research Performance
3.
Student/Faculty Composition
4.
Other/Miscellaneous
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance

Research Input – income/expenditures
(Maclean’s, Research Infosource, THE)

Research Output – number of papers published
(ARWU, Research Infosource, THE)

Research Impact – number of citations
(ARWU, QS, Research Infosource, THE)
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Input”
Placement
Among U15
Instrument
Indicator
Research Infosource
Total sponsored research income
THE
Research income per academic staff
Maclean’s
Total research spending per full-time faculty
13th
Research Infosource
Total research income per full-time faculty position
13th
Maclean’s
Social sciences & humanities (SSHERC) grants per
full-time faculty
14th
Maclean’s
Medical/Science (NSERC & CIHR) grants per fulltime faculty
13th
THE
Research income from industry per academic staff
3rd
12th
Not published
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Input”
Total sponsored research income
15
Research income from industry per
academic staff
8
Total research spending per fulltime faculty
1
Medical/Science (NSERC & CIHR)
grants per full-time faculty
Total research income per full-time
faculty position
Social sciences & humanities
(SSHERC) grants per full-time
faculty
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Output”
Placement
Among U15
Instrument
Indicator
Research Infosource
Total number of publications
15th
ARWU
Total number of papers
15th
THE
Academic papers per academic and
research staff
Research Infosource
Total number of publications per full-time
faculty
15th
ARWU
Total number of papers published in Nature
and Science
14th
THE
International co-authorships
Not published
Not published
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Output”
Total number of publications
15
8
Papers published in Nature
and Science
1
Total number of papers
Publications per full-time
faculty
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Impact”
Placement
Among U15
Instrument
Indicator
Research Infosource
Probability of being cited based on the journal
which an paper is published on (Average
Relative Impact Factor)
15th
THE
Normalized average citations per paper
15th
QS
Citations per faculty
15th
ARWU
Number of highly cited researchers in 21 broad
subject categories
10th
ARWU
Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes &
Fields Medals
7th
ARWU
Staff of an institution winning Nobel Prizes &
Fields Medals
Tied for 4th
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Research Performance: “Impact”
Average Relative Impact
Factor (ARIF)
15
Staff winning Nobel Prizes
& Fields Medals
8
Normalized average
citations per paper
1
Alumni winning Nobel
Prizes & Fields Medals
Citations per faculty
Number of highly cited
researchers
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Data Sources

Most data for research indicators are obtained
from third-party sources:
Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science
CAUBO
Elsevier’s Scopus
Tri-Agency
Rankings
Source
QS
THE
ARWU
Maclean’s
Research
Infosource
Bibliometrics and public/third-party sources
20%
38.5%
100%
80%
100%
Reputational surveys
50%
33%
Data provided by institutions
30%
28.5%
20%
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
Moving Forward…

Better/easier ways to access data/results from
ranking instruments (e.g. Ranking Dashboard)

Integrate Ranking Strategies into institutional
planning, decision making and communication
activities where appropriate

Explore the possibility of a Rankings Task Force to
increase our understanding of how rankings work
and how the U of S can improve in each instrument
www.usask.ca/ipa
Institutional Planning and Assessment| June 12, 2014
For More Information
Contact:
Troy Harkot
Director of Institutional Effectiveness
troy.harkot@usask.ca
IPA Website:
http://www.usask.ca/ipa/assessment/external_rankings.php
www.usask.ca/ipa