Meho, L. I. (2025). Gaming the metrics? Bibliometric anomalies and the integrity crisis in global research. Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.06448.
The study by Dr. L. Meho analyzes 18 rapidly ascending universities in India, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, from among the world’s top 1,000 most-publishing institutions. Read here about Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²): a new composite indicator that flags institutions whose bibliometric profiles diverge sharply from global norms. Explore the RI² methodology here.
In a news article published on June 30, 2025, University World News reported on Dr. L. Meho's study arguing that current ranking systems reward publication volume and visibility over research quality and ethical practices, potentially distorting scholarly records. Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²), the new tool developed by Dr. L. Meho, combines retraction rates and use of delisted journals to identify institutions with potential integrity issues.
In another news article published on June 6, 2025, Nature reported on Dr. L. Meho's study and raised concerns about authorship practices at institutions flagged by the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) which ranks institutions from "low risk" to "red flag" based on the proportion of retracted papers and publications in delisted journals, aiming to shift focus from quantity-driven metrics to research integrity.
