University of Sussex
Browse
Rafols2011-Rankings&IDR.pdf (1.84 MB)

How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research: a comparison between Innovation Studies and Business & Management

Download (1.84 MB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 11:36 authored by Ismael Rafols, Loet Leydesdorff, Alice O'Hare, Paul NightingalePaul Nightingale, Andrew StirlingAndrew Stirling
This study provides quantitative evidence on how the use of journal rankings can disadvantage interdisciplinary research in research evaluations. Using publication and citation data, it compares the degree of interdisciplinarity and the research performance of a number of Innovation Studies units with that of leading Business & Management schools in the UK. On the basis of various mappings and metrics, this study shows that: (i) Innovation Studies units are consistently more interdisciplinary in their research than Business & Management schools; (ii) the top journals in the Association of Business Schools’ rankings span a less diverse set of disciplines than lower-ranked journals; (iii) this results in a more favourable assessment of the performance of Business & Management schools, which are more disciplinary-focused. This citation-based analysis challenges the journal ranking-based assessment. In short, the investigation illustrates how ostensibly ‘excellence-based’ journal rankings exhibit a systematic bias in favour of mono-disciplinary research. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications of these phenomena, in particular how the bias is likely to affect negatively the evaluation and associated financial resourcing of interdisciplinary research organisations, and may result in researchers becoming more compliant with disciplinary authority over time.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Research Policy

ISSN

0048-7333

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

7

Volume

41

Page range

1262-1282

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Notes

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Research Policy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Research Policy, Vol 41, #7, September 2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2012.03.015

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-05-11

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-10-25

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-10-25

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC