Overcoming Size and Subject Bias in Rankings: A Review of Various Trends and Bias in Data Commonly Used in Rankings and Methods to Overcome Them

Introduction

This chapter reflects my thoughts and opinions that I have developed over the last five years working on various rankings, in particular the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings and the Reuters Innovative Universities rankings, for all of which I was the lead production manager. Although I am confident in the results of my work I recognize that my methods are not the only way to create a meaningful ranking and that other people may have contrary opinions. I hope that my insights will have use. My past experiences are primarily concerned with the production of “World” rankings of universities and thus my knowledge is somewhat limited to that context. I have little experience with domestic league tables, but recognize that there are many valuable resources such as league tables and university guidebooks that may be of more use, particularly for potential students or parents of students, than world university rankings. Some of the resources that I use from time to time are the US Department of Education’s “College Navigator” (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/) which is a rich resource of factual information and statistics such as on campus crime rates, accreditations and varsity athletics teams. This information may help inform a decision about which university to study at. There are of course many other resources in the US and other countries. If you happen to be the parent of a student or a potential student yourself I strongly recommend that you look first to see what domestic resources might be available.