A strong global ranking is important for the University’s reputation and success. Rankings provide an indication of our global standing for research and innovation, teaching, and our impact. This standing is a magnet which helps us to recruit and retain the best global talent and to build international collaborations and partnerships with universities, industry, and other organisations.

Global rankings are equally important for attracting and recruiting our home and international students. Some government and other funders of international studentships will only fund students to attend leading universities based on their position in the global rankings.

We have a strong position in the three major global rankings – the QS (34^th) THE (53^rd) and ARWU (52^nd) and an excellent position  in the THE ranking that measure impact on the global SDGs (2^nd) as well as our contribution to social and environmental sustainability (QS 6^th). However, our overall position in the three major global rankings (QS, THE, ARWU) is declining whilst competition increases, particularly from institutions in Asia.

Ranking methodologies are imperfect, and none measure all that we do, so we should not let them distort our plans. However, we need to focus collectively on maximising our performance.

Global Rankings: our approach

We have established a Global Ranking’s Taskforce (GRT), which will target actions that could help improve our performance. Our initial focus is targeting publication and citation-based metrics because we have identified this as an area of relative underperformance compared to our strong performance in other data used in the rankings. GRT will work through the ranking cycle to:

• coordinate communication of rankings performance internally and externally;
• use analytics to develop a benchmark position and understand underlying drivers;
• make key rankings data accessible to colleagues via Power BI;
• drive targeted actions for overall improvement.

Publication and Citation-based metrics

We currently have lower numbers of highly cited researchers than global and UK peers, and a gap to the top 25 institutions for citation metrics, which are present in all major rankings, dominated by Scopus (powering THE and QS) and the Web of Science (ARWU) data.

Citation-based metrics have limitations. For example, citation counts do not directly measure research quality, article types can have different citation patterns (e.g. reviews vs. original research) while network effects and self-citation practice can influence metrics.

There is also an English-language bias, with lower visibility and citation of publications in other languages on average, and other EDI issues. For example, on average women receive comparable or higher citations per individual paper compared to men but accumulate fewer total citations over their careers due to lower publication rates.

Responsible metrics

The University was one of the first UK signatories of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).  In line with DORA’s recommendations we use citations data which are normalised by field over the preceding 5 years to account for disciplinary differences and effect of the age of the publication.

Citations-based metrics of the individual researcher are used as only one indicator among other quantitative and qualitative information to make judgements about research performance. Other quantitative measures include research funding, PGR supervision, prizes, and other esteem measures. These limitations are considered when interpreting an individual’s citations.

Read our Responsible Metrics statement.

Media, press and digital communication

Evidence suggests that working with the media, particularly via press releases, significantly enhances the visibility of research, which in turn correlates with increased citation rates. Using our institutional membership for Scite.ai, a list of published evidence that shows the benefits of mentioning research in a press release to improve citation rates was generated and reviewed.

One of the key findings is that articles receiving high online media attention, often facilitated by press releases, tend to have higher citation counts.

• Haneef et al. noted a strong correlation between online media attention and the number of scholarly citations, indicating that increased exposure through press releases can lead to greater academic recognition (Haneef et al., 2017).
• Boyd et al. highlighted that research promotion, including the use of press releases, is associated with broader influence and higher impact of publications, suggesting that authors should actively disseminate their work to maximise its reach and citation potential (Boyd et al., 2022).
• Mathelus et al. provided empirical evidence showing that articles promoted via press releases experienced a significant boost in citations, with their study indicating that such publicity efforts could increase citations by as much as 2.0 to 2.2 times (Mathelus et al., 2012).
• Araújo et al. identified the presence of press releases as a critical factor associated with high Altmetrics scores, which are indicative of online attention and engagement (Araújo et al., 2021).

The impact of press releases extends beyond academic circles and how research is subsequently perceived in the media:

• Casino et al. emphasised that press citations, which often stem from journal press releases, enhance the visibility of research papers and consequently boost their citation rates in scientific literature (Casino et al., 2017).
• Schroeder noted that a significant percentage of health news stories originate from press releases, underscoring their role as a primary source of information for journalists(Schroeder, 2010).
• Fuoco et al. reinforced the notion that issuing press releases correlates with increased scholarly citations, particularly for significant findings that might otherwise go unnoticed (Fuoco et al., 2023). This relationship is crucial for researchers aiming to ensure that their work reaches a wider audience, including policymakers and the public, thereby increasing its potential impact.

The interplay between media attention generated by press releases and academic citations is evident across multiple studies, highlighting the importance of effective communication strategies in the dissemination of scientific research. Self-publicity via social media and digital channels can help researchers reach new audiences, build a presence, and increase the visibility of your work.

Five actions you can take as researchers

• Connect and maintain your ORCID, Researcher ID, Scopus ID – checking for and merging any duplicates (e.g. through the Scopus Author Feedback Wizard).
• Connect these IDs to your Pure profile (see Pure guidance for researchers).
• Ensure you use University of Manchester affiliation.
• Ensure your publication title and abstract is clear to promote it and encourage readership.
• Learn how to maximise your profile and promote your research, access media and social media training.

Townhall recording

Sign up to the Research Communications Conference – 5 March

A must-attend event for UoM staff and PGRs interested in upskilling to communicate their research, including sessions on working with the media, using social and digital platforms, AI tools and writing a lay summary. Sign up here.

Contact our Media Relations team at Manchester.

How do you think we can maintain and improve our global rankings and where would you like to see the University’s rankings position in 2035?

Related