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METHODS article

Front. Res. Metr. Anal.
Sec. Research Methods
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frma.2024.1510169

Leveraging Journal Citation-Based Metrics for Enhanced University Rankings Methodology

Provisionally accepted
Sergio Thoumi Sergio Thoumi *Ali Ghaddar Ali Ghaddar Samer S Saab Samer S Saab
  • Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper proposes a novel framework for evaluating research performance in university rankings, utilizing journal citation-based metrics and scholarly output instead of traditional article citation metrics. Through correlation analysis, we compare the proposed metrics with article citation metrics used by prominent ranking systems (THE and QS) and demonstrate significantly higher correlations with established rankings (QS, THE, and ARWU). The proposed metrics exhibit robustness over time and offer a fairer evaluation by emphasizing objective performance and mitigating citation biases. This framework provides institutions with a more accurate benchmarking tool to inform strategic decisions and resource allocation. While acknowledging potential limitations in data availability and the challenge of achieving global consensus, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on university rankings by advocating for a more equitable and robust evaluation system by balancing diverse metrics and offering more standardized measures.

    Keywords: ARWU, the, Qs, research assessment, citation metrics, Ranking evaluation, Citation-based metrics

    Received: 12 Oct 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Thoumi, Ghaddar and Saab. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sergio Thoumi, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.