Elsevier's Scopus Database Underpins ShanghaiRanking Consultancy's "2015 Best Chinese University Ranking" Report

BEIJING, February 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Powered by Scopus data and SciVal analytics, the inaugural report is a comprehensive evaluation of the academic performance of higher education establishments across China 

The inaugural and newly-released '2015 Best Chinese University Ranking' report, based on ShanghaiRanking Consultancy (SRC)'s evaluation, is anchored on Elsevier's Scopus research database and powered by metrics from SciVal analytics - both part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio.

The report provides a detailed look at key research performance indicators of more than 1,000 higher education institutions across mainland China.

SRC's ranking of Chinese universities offers objective benchmarking of research performance of higher education institutions, allowing research management offices and higher education agencies to make strategic decisions around policy development and investments towards building the research capabilities of these universities.

The methodology for the '2015 Best Chinese University Ranking' report is based on nine (9) indicators that evaluate the role of a university including aspects of teaching and learning, research performance as well as social services. According to SRC, these nine indicators enable the independent and objective evaluation of the academic performance of Chinese institutes of higher education in a transparent and open manner.

The '2015 Best Chinese University Ranking' report, including the methodology used and raw data of all evaluated indicators, is now available for download at http://www.zuihaodaxue.com.

In addition, the 2014 list of China's most influential researchers has also been made available. The list, using SRC's selection criteria, was developed in collaboration with Elsevier, who provided the citation data indicators.

Further to SRC, Elsevier also provides Scopus data and SciVal analytics to Times Higher Education's World University ranking, US News & World Report's Arab Region Ranking, the Financial Times' MBA Ranking and QS' Top Universities Ranking for their respective organizations' rankings.

'2015 Best Chinese University Ranking' Report Highlights 

Based on Scopus data, the '2015 Best Chinese University Ranking' report contains some of the following highlights:

• Over the past five years, from 2009 to 2013, Zhejiang University is the highest publisher of research papers. This is respectively followed by Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tsinghua University, Peking University and the newly established University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• Over the same five-year period, 31 universities achieved a Field-Weighted Citation Index (FWCI) higher than the global average value of '1' for their research papers.
• Amongst the community of most influential researchers listed, Tsinghua University leads with 106 most influential researchers, while Peking University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Fudan University each has more than 50 researchers listed as most influential.

Executive Quotes 

Dr. Cheng Ying, Managing Director, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy:

"The 'Best Chinese University Ranking' report markedly differentiates itself by including indicators derived from metrics of each university's stakeholder groups such as students, employers, academics and enterprises for evaluation. These indicators were selected after careful deliberation to provide a clear, pragmatic and comprehensive perspective that creates value for and is unique to the market."

Prof. Liu Niancai, Chairman of the Board, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy:

"A transparent and scientific approach is the foundation of any university ranking system. The 'Best Chinese University Ranking' report employed indicators that reflect the core competitiveness of universities and publishes the complete set of raw data indicators. This is a gold standard practice that is aligned with other leading world university rankings reports."

M'hamed el Aisati, Director of Content & Analytics, Research Management, Elsevier:

"China is steadily taking up its position amongst the world's most research-intensive nations and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy is playing a definitive role in driving research excellence by promoting the academic performance of China's universities. As a world-leading provider of digital information solutions, Elsevier's Scopus database and SciVal analytics are well-positioned to support SRC in helping Chinese universities set strategic priorities, make investment decisions and shape research development policies."

About ShanghaiRanking Consultancy 

ShanghaiRanking Consultancy is a fully independent organization on higher education information. It endeavors to study the characteristics of world research universities and various policies of universities and governments regarding lifting performance. ShanghaiRanking consultancy is the official publisher of Academic Ranking of World Universities, the first and one of the most influential global university rankings in the world.

About Scopus 

Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 55+ million items indexed from 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services.

About Elsevier 

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes nearly 2,200 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and over 33,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works.

The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
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Elsevier
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j.chan@elsevier.com