International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ranking of universities and institutions has attracted wide attention recently. Several systems have been proposed that attempt to rank academic institutions worldwide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review the two...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2007-10-01
|
| Series: | BMC Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/30 |
| _version_ | 1818569935209627648 |
|---|---|
| author | Tatsioni Athina Kavvoura Fotini K Patsopoulos Nikolaos A Ioannidis John PA Evangelou Evangelos Kouri Ioanna Contopoulos-Ioannidis Despina G Liberopoulos George |
| author_facet | Tatsioni Athina Kavvoura Fotini K Patsopoulos Nikolaos A Ioannidis John PA Evangelou Evangelos Kouri Ioanna Contopoulos-Ioannidis Despina G Liberopoulos George |
| author_sort | Tatsioni Athina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ranking of universities and institutions has attracted wide attention recently. Several systems have been proposed that attempt to rank academic institutions worldwide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review the two most publicly visible ranking systems, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University 'Academic Ranking of World Universities' and the Times Higher Education Supplement 'World University Rankings' and also briefly review other ranking systems that use different criteria. We assess the construct validity for educational and research excellence and the measurement validity of each of the proposed ranking criteria, and try to identify generic challenges in international ranking of universities and institutions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>None of the reviewed criteria for international ranking seems to have very good construct validity for both educational and research excellence, and most don't have very good construct validity even for just one of these two aspects of excellence. Measurement error for many items is also considerable or is not possible to determine due to lack of publication of the relevant data and methodology details. The concordance between the 2006 rankings by Shanghai and Times is modest at best, with only 133 universities shared in their top 200 lists. The examination of the existing international ranking systems suggests that generic challenges include adjustment for institutional size, definition of institutions, implications of average measurements of excellence versus measurements of extremes, adjustments for scientific field, time frame of measurement and allocation of credit for excellence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Naïve lists of international institutional rankings that do not address these fundamental challenges with transparent methods are misleading and should be abandoned. We make some suggestions on how focused and standardized evaluations of excellence could be improved and placed in proper context.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:54:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b8c58bf6d52447cb596c6cae35d5e2b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1741-7015 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:54:12Z |
| publishDate | 2007-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b8c58bf6d52447cb596c6cae35d5e2b2022-12-21T23:12:45ZengBMCBMC Medicine1741-70152007-10-01513010.1186/1741-7015-5-30International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisalTatsioni AthinaKavvoura Fotini KPatsopoulos Nikolaos AIoannidis John PAEvangelou EvangelosKouri IoannaContopoulos-Ioannidis Despina GLiberopoulos George<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ranking of universities and institutions has attracted wide attention recently. Several systems have been proposed that attempt to rank academic institutions worldwide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review the two most publicly visible ranking systems, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University 'Academic Ranking of World Universities' and the Times Higher Education Supplement 'World University Rankings' and also briefly review other ranking systems that use different criteria. We assess the construct validity for educational and research excellence and the measurement validity of each of the proposed ranking criteria, and try to identify generic challenges in international ranking of universities and institutions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>None of the reviewed criteria for international ranking seems to have very good construct validity for both educational and research excellence, and most don't have very good construct validity even for just one of these two aspects of excellence. Measurement error for many items is also considerable or is not possible to determine due to lack of publication of the relevant data and methodology details. The concordance between the 2006 rankings by Shanghai and Times is modest at best, with only 133 universities shared in their top 200 lists. The examination of the existing international ranking systems suggests that generic challenges include adjustment for institutional size, definition of institutions, implications of average measurements of excellence versus measurements of extremes, adjustments for scientific field, time frame of measurement and allocation of credit for excellence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Naïve lists of international institutional rankings that do not address these fundamental challenges with transparent methods are misleading and should be abandoned. We make some suggestions on how focused and standardized evaluations of excellence could be improved and placed in proper context.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/30 |
| spellingShingle | Tatsioni Athina Kavvoura Fotini K Patsopoulos Nikolaos A Ioannidis John PA Evangelou Evangelos Kouri Ioanna Contopoulos-Ioannidis Despina G Liberopoulos George International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal BMC Medicine |
| title | International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal |
| title_full | International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal |
| title_fullStr | International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal |
| title_full_unstemmed | International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal |
| title_short | International ranking systems for universities and institutions: a critical appraisal |
| title_sort | international ranking systems for universities and institutions a critical appraisal |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/30 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tatsioniathina internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT kavvourafotinik internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT patsopoulosnikolaosa internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT ioannidisjohnpa internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT evangelouevangelos internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT kouriioanna internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT contopoulosioannidisdespinag internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal AT liberopoulosgeorge internationalrankingsystemsforuniversitiesandinstitutionsacriticalappraisal |