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Research Integrity Risk Index
Research integrity risk metric for global universities From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
This article may incorporate text from a large language model. (June 2025) |
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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]
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How does RI² work?
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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.
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Red-flagged universities by Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²)
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This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).[8][19][20]
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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]
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External reception
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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]
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See also
References
External links
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