Research Integrity Risk Index

Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) is a bibliometric-based risk indicator developed by Lokman Meho, , bibliometrician, research evaluation expert and the University Librarian at the American University of Beirut, to assess research integrity vulnerabilities in global academic institutions.^[1] RI² evaluates universities based on the rate of retracted articles and the proportion of publications in delisted journals, offering an alternative to conventional research rankings.^[2][3]

Background

Traditional global university rankings have transformed the definition of academic success, prioritizing metrics like publication counts and citation rates over scholarly integrity.^[4][5][6] The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) index offers a complementary lens focused on research reliability and ethical publishing practices. It was created to highlight patterns of publication misconduct or structural weaknesses in institutional oversight.^[2][7]

How does RI² work?

The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) assesses academic institutions using two independent and verifiable metrics^[8][2]: (1) the R Rate, which represents the number of retracted articles per 1,000 publications; and (2) the D Rate, which measures the proportion of an institution’s publications that appear in journals recently delisted from Scopus or Web of Science. These indicators, reflecting research quality and integrity, are combined into a 0–1 score that places institutions into five risk tiers, from Red Flag to Low Risk, based on the top 1,000 publishing universities.

Describing his RI², Dr. Lokman Meho stated that “RI² helps shift the focus from sheer volume and visibility to structural signals of ethical risk, offering universities a path towards more sustainable and transparent academic performance,” adding: “Its reliance on existing public data ensures it can be adopted globally without costly infrastructure changes.”^[3]

Methodology

The RI² score is computed using two indicators^[9]:

• Retraction Risk measures the number of retracted articles per 1,000 publications over a two-year period, focusing on retractions due to misconduct such as data fabrication, plagiarism, and peer review manipulation. The data is drawn from Retraction Watch, Medline, and Web of Science, filtered to include only retractions attributed to author-related causes. Articles are matched to institutions via SciVal to calculate retraction rates normalized by publication volume.^{[10][11][12][13]}
• Delisted Journal Risk tracks the proportion of an institution’s output published in journals removed from Scopus or Web of Science for breaching editorial and ethical standards. These journals are identified through each database’s re-evaluation and delisting processes, which flag concerns like paper mills, citation cartels, and peer-review manipulation. Only content from journals actively indexed in the relevant period is included.^[14]

The data from both components act as indicators of wider research integrity issues, including paper mills (entities that sell authorship), citation cartels (mutual citation schemes to boost impact), citation farms (networks that produce or trade citations), unethical authorship practices, and other tactics used to manipulate academic metrics. Both components reflect verifiable outcomes rather than inferred behaviors, providing strong and reliable indicators of institutional-level risk.^{[15][12][13][11][16][17][18]}

RI² applies a fixed reference group: the 1,000 most publishing universities worldwide, ensuring consistency and comparability across regions and disciplines, and stable thresholds.

Normalization and Composite Scoring

Each indicator is scaled to a 0–1 range using Min-Max normalization relative to the global reference group. The composite RI² score is the simple average of the two:

RI² = (Normalized Retraction Rate + Normalized Delisted Rate) / 2

RI² is updated semiannually. The next update of the database and rankings will be released in December 2025^[8].

Tier Classification

Institutions are assigned to tiers based on their RI² percentiles^[9]:

Tier	Percentile Range	Interpretation	Score Range (June 2025 edition)
Red Flag	≥ 95th	Extreme anomalies; systemic integrity risk	RI2 ≥ 0.251
High Risk	≥ 90th and < 95th	Significant deviation from global norms	0.176 ≤ RI2 < 0.251
Watch List	≥ 75th and < 90th	Moderately elevated risk; emerging concerns	0.099 ≤ RI2 < 0.176
Normal Variation	≥ 50th and < 75th	Within expected global variance	0.049 ≤ RI2 < 0.099
Low Risk	< 50th	Strong adherence to publishing integrity norms	RI2 < 0.049

Full rankings and methodology are available online on the official RI² website.

Key Features of the RI² Methodology

• Global Benchmarking: Ensures representative and statistically reliable classification.
• Fixed Thresholds for Consistency: Applicable across large or small datasets, preserving interpretability.
• Transparency and Resistance to Gaming: Built on normalized, verifiable metrics rather than subjective assessments.

Red-flagged universities by Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²)

This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).^[8][19][20]

RI2 Rank	Institution Name (per SciVal/Scopus)	Country	Articles 23-24	D 23-24	% D 23-24	R 22-23	R rate 22-23	Norm D Rank	Norm R Rank	RI2 Score
1	Graphic Era University	India	2525	171	6.77	59	37.29	55	1	0.916
2	Vel Tech University	India	1927	226	11.73	38	26.08	7	3	0.868
3	Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation	India	3827	575	15.02	50	18.50	3	9	0.834
4	Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad	India	8071	959	11.88	159	23.05	6	5	0.817
5	Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur	India	1905	219	11.50	37	22.32	9	6	0.791
6	Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences	India	10429	872	8.36	170	26.82	34	2	0.772
7	Anna University	India	16871	1712	10.15	374	23.54	21	4	0.770
8	Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University	India	2736	303	11.07	46	18.88	13	8	0.713
9	University of Pune	India	4411	677	15.35	36	9.64	2	61	0.680
10	Daffodil International University	Bangladesh	1652	151	9.14	26	17.82	30	13	0.630
11	Bina Nusantara University	Indonesia	1721	309	17.95	2	1.28	1	512	0.609
12	Al-Mustaqbal University	Iraq	2430	158	6.50	49	20.28	61	7	0.590
13	Visvesvaraya Technological University	India	6637	746	11.24	71	11.73	11	37	0.585
14	Taif University	Saudi Arabia	5179	385	7.43	126	18.04	45	11	0.578
15	SRM Institute of Science and Technology	India	8292	697	8.41	102	15.35	32	19	0.560
16	Middle East University	Jordan	1796	259	14.42	4	4.77	4	177	0.559
17	Majmaah University	Saudi Arabia	1844	158	8.57	28	14.55	31	24	0.550
18	Northern Borders University	Saudi Arabia	2001	210	10.49	12	10.88	16	45	0.545
19	Chitkara University	India	2882	184	6.38	29	17.14	62	16	0.528
20	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia	8556	683	7.98	123	14.30	39	25	0.527
21	Zhongnan University of Economics and Law	China	1722	104	6.04	28	16.59	76	17	0.506
22	Annamalai University	India	2013	226	11.23	13	6.82	12	117	0.493
23	Riphah International University	Pakistan	2081	90	4.32	39	18.29	141	10	0.482
24	University of Education	Pakistan	1853	89	4.80	31	17.33	124	14	0.480
25	Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management	India	2666	286	10.73	15	6.95	15	106	0.479
26	GLA University	India	3074	179	5.82	35	15.10	84	20	0.471
27	Al-Balqa Applied University	Jordan	2195	227	10.34	14	7.19	18	98	0.471
28	University of Management and Technology	Pakistan	1819	99	5.44	30	14.97	97	22	0.456
29	The University of Lahore	Pakistan	2905	156	5.37	41	14.95	103	23	0.454
30	Al Jouf University	Saudi Arabia	3406	272	7.99	40	10.20	38	55	0.450
31	University of Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	2800	220	7.86	26	10.26	41	53	0.447
32	Symbiosis International University	India	2904	295	10.16	12	5.96	20	140	0.442
33	Hainan Medical University	China	2740	91	3.32	42	17.84	194	12	0.441
34	Applied Science Private University	Jordan	2382	249	10.45	8	5.36	17	155	0.441
35	Uttaranchal University	India	1709	99	5.79	14	13.50	85	28	0.440
36	University of Kufa	Iraq	1739	197	11.33	5	3.13	10	280	0.427
37	University of Petroleum and Energy Studies	India	2641	130	4.92	39	13.81	120	26	0.418
38	Government College University Faisalabad	Pakistan	2909	158	5.43	39	12.90	98	34	0.417
39	Ajman University	United Arab Emirates	2226	150	6.74	20	10.53	56	50	0.416
40	Universitas Airlangga	Indonesia	5994	694	11.58	11	1.99	8	406	0.414
41	Chandigarh University	India	4490	295	6.57	36	10.49	58	52	0.410
42	Shanghai University of Finance and Economics	China	1624	65	4.00	24	14.97	155	21	0.410
43	Hubei University of Medicine	China	1599	52	3.25	23	16.23	200	18	0.409
44	L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University	Kazakhstan	1643	162	9.86	6	4.63	24	185	0.408
45	University of Agriculture Faisalabad	Pakistan	3288	192	5.84	41	11.64	82	40	0.407
46	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology	India	2336	230	9.85	10	4.62	25	187	0.407
47	University of Tabuk	Saudi Arabia	3353	196	5.85	30	11.49	81	42	0.405
48	Osmania University	India	2034	143	7.03	17	9.39	50	66	0.404
49	Universitas Sumatera Utara	Indonesia	1898	226	11.91	1	0.67	5	684	0.400
50	Bahauddin Zakariya University	Pakistan	2382	104	4.37	33	13.33	139	32	0.391
51	King Khalid University	Saudi Arabia	11122	658	5.92	106	10.58	78	49	0.390
52	King Faisal University	Saudi Arabia	4875	396	8.12	28	6.72	36	122	0.390
53	Sichuan Normal University	China	2122	44	2.07	32	17.25	401	15	0.389
54	Vellore Institute of Technology	India	10388	529	5.09	99	11.88	110	36	0.387
55	Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University	Saudi Arabia	8730	531	6.08	78	9.76	74	58	0.380
56	Jazan University	Saudi Arabia	4147	288	6.94	29	7.78	53	89	0.371
57	Government College University Lahore	Pakistan	1835	107	5.83	16	9.58	83	64	0.369
58	University of Babylon	Iraq	2440	248	10.16	4	1.96	19	412	0.368
59	Umm Al-Qura University	Saudi Arabia	5718	363	6.35	51	8.60	65	74	0.367
60	University of the Punjab	Pakistan	4275	297	6.95	32	7.47	52	94	0.366
61	Hebei University of Engineering	China	1903	65	3.42	23	13.36	188	30	0.360
62	INTI International University	Malaysia	1627	179	11.00	0	0.00	14	1343	0.358
63	Qassim University	Saudi Arabia	5278	375	7.10	34	6.81	48	119	0.358
64	University of Hail	Saudi Arabia	3125	172	5.50	27	9.60	94	63	0.358
65	Prince Sultan University	Saudi Arabia	2474	172	6.95	16	6.94	51	109	0.356
66	Lovely Professional University	India	5169	280	5.42	34	9.47	99	65	0.353
67	Shaqra University	Saudi Arabia	1588	112	7.05	9	6.51	49	128	0.351
68	Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia	Malaysia	2005	168	8.38	8	4.15	33	209	0.350
69	Universitas Hasanuddin	Indonesia	2799	284	10.15	2	1.00	22	588	0.349
70	Duy Tan University	Viet Nam	1814	105	5.79	14	8.55	86	76	0.348
71	Universiti Teknologi MARA	Malaysia	6734	653	9.70	9	1.44	26	488	0.343
72	Al-Ahliyya Amman University	Jordan	1693	168	9.92	1	0.82	23	632	0.339
73	University of Basrah	Iraq	2053	188	9.16	4	2.13	29	391	0.338
74	Ningxia Medical University	China	2444	64	2.62	28	13.50	266	29	0.337
75	Islamia University	Pakistan	3102	131	4.22	30	10.60	146	48	0.335
76	Najran University	Saudi Arabia	2455	151	6.15	16	7.11	72	101	0.333
77	Menoufia University	Egypt	3389	203	5.99	24	7.18	77	99	0.329
78	Al-Farabi Kazakh National University	Kazakhstan	2267	122	5.38	17	8.19	102	83	0.328
79	Shaoxing University	China	2166	73	3.37	22	11.62	191	41	0.326
80	Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan	Pakistan	2029	95	4.68	19	9.33	129	67	0.326
81	University of Baghdad	Iraq	6518	612	9.39	6	1.06	28	567	0.326
82	Jinzhou Medical University	China	1594	32	2.01	18	13.75	421	27	0.322
83	University of Mosul	Iraq	2423	174	7.18	10	4.63	46	184	0.320
84	Christ University	India	2181	129	5.91	12	6.74	79	121	0.318
85	Huizhou University	China	2010	43	2.14	25	13.33	379	31	0.318
86	Universitas Sebelas Maret	Indonesia	2621	248	9.46	1	0.47	27	817	0.317
87	Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology	India	2056	127	6.18	13	6.16	70	134	0.316
88	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia	27268	988	3.62	215	10.51	172	51	0.314
89	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia	Malaysia	5797	437	7.54	22	3.66	44	239	0.314
90	Wannan Medical College	China	1698	39	2.30	18	12.81	326	35	0.314
91	COMSATS University Islamabad	Pakistan	5494	295	5.37	47	7.33	104	95	0.312
92	University of Mumbai	India	2163	179	8.28	4	2.15	35	387	0.310
93	University of Madras	India	2210	92	4.16	20	9.28	148	68	0.309
94	Southwestern University of Finance and Economics	China	2349	65	2.77	26	11.67	240	38	0.308
95	National Institute of Technology Patna	India	1660	134	8.07	3	2.11	37	394	0.302
96	Linyi University	China	1597	27	1.69	20	13.17	545	33	0.301
97	Bharathiar University	India	2645	173	6.54	12	4.63	59	186	0.299
98	Hebei Medical University	China	5435	192	3.53	51	9.83	181	57	0.298
99	Taibah University	Saudi Arabia	3274	217	6.63	13	4.40	57	197	0.298
100	Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University	Saudi Arabia	3451	182	5.27	17	6.70	105	123	0.297
101	Al-Mustansiriya University	Iraq	2465	195	7.91	4	1.76	40	439	0.290
102	Xi'an Polytechnic University	China	1724	48	2.78	17	10.63	237	47	0.289
103	Future University in Egypt	Egypt	1953	78	3.99	20	8.48	157	79	0.288
104	Jimma University	Ethiopia	1821	39	2.14	21	11.65	377	39	0.287
105	King Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia	11458	552	4.82	94	6.98	123	104	0.287
106	Xuzhou Medical University	China	4565	104	2.28	44	11.27	331	43	0.284
107	University of Sargodha	Pakistan	1826	74	4.05	14	7.82	151	87	0.278
108	Lebanese American University	Lebanon	5811	359	6.18	13	4.05	69	217	0.277
109	Near East University	Turkey	2206	134	6.07	9	4.20	75	207	0.276
110	Firat University	Turkey	2345	181	7.72	3	1.26	42	519	0.275
111	Bharathidasan University	India	2340	122	5.21	12	5.58	107	149	0.274
112	Anhui Jianzhu University	China	1739	53	3.05	13	9.14	214	69	0.270
113	Shijiazhuang Tiedao University	China	1870	44	2.35	17	10.25	316	54	0.268
114	Pondicherry University	India	1801	97	5.39	8	4.76	100	179	0.264
115	Universidade Federal de Uberlândia	Brazil	2412	46	1.91	27	10.81	451	46	0.264
116	Xinjiang Medical College	China	2015	36	1.79	20	10.93	512	44	0.262
117	Amity University, Noida	India	4364	239	5.48	19	4.48	96	192	0.262
118	Ibn Tofail University	Morocco	2154	165	7.66	1	0.57	43	739	0.260
119	Universiti Putra Malaysia	Malaysia	7344	420	5.72	28	3.84	89	229	0.258
120	Asia University	Taiwan	2234	88	3.94	19	6.90	159	113	0.257
121	Beni-Suef University	Egypt	2833	135	4.77	15	5.40	127	153	0.256
122	Yarmouk University	Jordan	1835	131	7.14	2	1.19	47	542	0.255
123	Quaid-i-Azam University	Pakistan	2975	139	4.67	18	5.37	130	154	0.252
124	Universiti Malaysia Sabah	Malaysia	2036	117	5.75	8	3.48	88	255	0.252

Interactive Map

Users can explore the interactive RI² world map, which displays average RI² scores by country to visualize geographic trends in research integrity risk.

Key findings

RI² emphasize the pressing need for integrity-focused reforms in the way rankings, funding bodies, and institutions assess scholarly performance.^[2] The index is designed as a risk monitor, not a ranking of prestige. According to its creator, over-reliance on flawed bibliometrics incentives may allow paper mills, unethical collaborations, or manipulation of editorial and peer-review processes to go undetected in standard rankings.^[19]

External reception

The methodology and findings have drawn international attention.^[21] A 2025 article in Nature spotlighted universities with unusually high numbers of retractions, citing RI² data in its analysis.^[19][1]

An article in Science Chronicle (India) highlighted the 32 Indian universities that were red flagged according to the RI² index^[22]. The Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (ISAIL) proposed a transformative approach to evaluating institutional excellence. They claimed that the RI² index resonates with its mission to champion ethical standards in technology and research^[23].

Commenting on the RI² index, an article in al-Ghad newspaper (Jordan) highlights its value as a critical alternative to traditional rankings, exposing ethical risks in academia. Citing Jordan as an example, the author notes that eight universities were listed—five red-flagged, two high risk, and one on the watch list^[24].

In an interview with University World News, Lokman Meho described his RI² tool as an “empirically grounded, conservative tool that flags institutions exhibiting structural integrity risks based on retraction rates and reliance on delisted journals”, he said, rather than a punitive tool, the index offers institutions a chance to detect integrity risks before they become reputational liabilities.^[3]

See also

• Retraction Watch
• Scientific misconduct
• Citation Impact
• Predatory publishing
• Retraction in academic publishing
• Academic careerism
• Publish or perish