Impact of Tufts' research in the social sciences tops world university rankings, reports prestigious London newspaper

London [06.21.01] -- The top-quality work of Tufts' faculty, researchers and scientists has secured the University a spot among the world's most influential research institutions, reports one of London's leading newspapers. In an exclusive study of the research conducted at universities around the world, London's Guardian reports " Tufts University tops the world rankings" for the global impact of its social science research, beating out institutions from the U.K., Germany, Canada and the U.S.

   "The results of the study commissioned by The Guardian reveal the global impact of research published by faculty in the social sciences across Tufts University's campuses," Tufts' Dean of Natural and Social Sciences Susan Ernst said. "Our faculty members engaged in undergraduate and graduate teaching and in research are clearly being recognized by their peers as international leaders and points of reference in their respective fields."

   To produce the report, the London newspaper compared "the impact of researchers in top universities and institutes in the four countries against other academics worldwide," using data from 1994-1998 as the foundation for the rankings.

   According to the Guardian, which is read by over 400,000 people every day, Tufts' social science research findings-- including studies from all three U.S. campuses, addressing everything from medicine and nutrition to philosophy, political science, child development and community health issues -- are among the most frequently cited in academic journals.

   Explaining the methodology, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the Guardian's study "ranked universities according to how many papers their faculty members publish, and how often those papers are cited in other publications. The 'research impact' of an institution was defined as the average number of citations per paper published."

   Based on the Guardian's analysis, the average social sciences study published by a Tufts researcher is cited by other scientists 50 percent more frequently than those published by the other U.S. universities included in the Guardian's rankings.

   Tufts' Sheldon Krimsky told the Chronicle that the Guardian's ranking methodology is less subjective than the U.S. News and World Report rankings published in the United States.

   "This methodology has some benefits -- it's quantitative and impersonal," Krimsky said.

   Among the institutions ranked in the Top 40 for social sciences research, Tufts placed higher than 10 U.S. universities including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Dartmouth and Caltech and a host of institutions from Europe and Canada.