Meho, L. I., & Akl, E. A. (2025). Using bibliometrics to detect questionable authorship and affiliation practices and their impact on global research metrics: A case study of 14 universities. Quantitative Science Studies, 6 (63-98). https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00339
The study by two AUB faculty members emphasizes the need for collaborative reforms by universities, ranking agencies, publishers, and other entities, highlighting the importance of each entity’s role in preserving academic integrity and ensuring the reliability of global research metrics.
The below presentation by Dr. L. Meho in Qatar is an updated version of the study published in Quantitative Science Studies.
Al Jazeera reported on the study raising concerns about authorship practice in a news article published on February 25, 2025.
Based on SCOPUS data.
Compiled using six simple metrics that capture university performance: Academic reputation; Employer reputation; Faculty/Student ratio; Citations per faculty; International faculty ratio; International student ratio. Methodology
Based on CLARIVATE data.
Uses six objective indicators to rank world universities, including the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate Analytics, number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science, number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index - Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, and per capita performance of a university.
Based on SCOPUS data.
These rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. They use calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across three broad areas: research, outreach, and stewardship. Methodology
Based on SCOPUS data.
This ranking is based on the world’s largest invitation-only opinion survey of senior, published academics. It asks scholars to name no more than 15 universities that they believe are the best for research and teaching in their field, based on their own experience. Methodology
Based on SCOPUS data.
Judges research-intensive universities across each one of their core missions: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation), international outlook (staff, students and research); citations (research influence); industry income (knowledge transfer). Methodology
Based on CLARIVATE data.
Stands for a multidimensional perspective on university performance and provides indicators of scientific impact, collaboration, open access publishing, and gender diversity. It also provides information exclusively about the research done at universities. Research is represented in publications, and carefully collected data about these publications forms the basis for the Leiden Ranking.
Highlights 120 leading universities in the Arab world, based on the assessment of 10 different indicators including academic and employer reputation and the research impact of each university. Methodology
Uses the same 13 performance indicators as the THE World University Rankings, but they are recalibrated to reflect the attributes of Asia’s institutions. The universities are judged across all their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook – to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available. Methodology
Ranks 120 Arab region schools from 18 countries based on 11 indicators that measure academic research performance and reputation. Methodology
An academic ranking of global universities that assesses the quality of education, alumni employment, research output, and citations without relying on surveys and university data submissions. Methodology
Aims to promote the performance of universities from all over the world based on their web presence and impact. Methodology
An international world university rankings system which measures performance of 850 leading world universities from 80 countries by 20 unique indicators and 4 key areas of university activities: teaching, research, international diversity, financial sustainability. Methodology
Academic and research-related institutions are ranked by a composite indicator that combines three different sets of indicators based on research performance, innovation outputs, and societal impact. Methodology
Assesses higher education institutions according to the three traditional missions of universities: education, scientific research, and the relation between the university and the local community. This is based on the consistently measured quantitative indicators and rules out the use of the data based on reputational surveys, which significantly increases the level of objectivity. Methodology
A ranking system for the world universities based on academic performance indicators that reflect the quality and the quantity of their scholarly publications. Methodology
Based on 13 indicators including schools' academic research and reputation, this ranking allows students to compare universities around the world. Methodology
U-Multirank is a multidimensional, user-driven approach to international ranking of higher education institutions. It compares the performances of higher education institutions – in short: universities – in the five dimensions of university activity: (1) teaching and learning, (2) research, (3) knowledge transfer, (4) international orientation and (5) regional engagement.
