How bibliometric indicators in the world university rankings change academic activities focusing on academics’ publication and citation in Higher Education and Science Studies (completed 2023)

This study aims to examine how bibliometric indicators used by world university rankings influence academic activities focusing on academics’ publication and citation patterns in the fields of higher education and science studies. The first world university ranking was introduced in 2003. To observe trickle-down effects or impact of world university rankings on academics, this study aims to examine how bibliometric indicators in the world university rankings affect academic activities focusing on academics’ publication and citation especially in the field of higher education and science studies. The reason for focusing on the field of higher education and science studies in this study is that academics in both fields are supposed to be relatively aware of the contradictions for academic work generated by world university rankings, compared to researchers from other fields and disciplines.