Research Integrity Risk Index: Difference between revisions

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Detailed methodology is available online on the official [https://sites.aub.edu.lb/lmeho/ri2/ RI² website].

Detailed methodology is available online on the official [https://sites.aub.edu.lb/lmeho/ri2/ RI² website].

{| class=”wikitable”

{| class=”wikitable”

|”’Tier”’

Tier

|”’Percentile Range”’

Percentile Range

|”’Interpretation”’

Interpretation

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|”’Red Flag”’

|”’Red Flag”’

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This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).<ref name=”:2″ />

This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).<ref name=”:2″ />

{| class=”wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed”

{| class=”wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed”

|

|”’Institution Name”’

Institution Name

|”’Country”’

Country

|”’Field”’

Field

|”’Articles”’

Articles

!D

|”’D”’

!R

|”’R”’

!S

|”’S”’

|”’Norm D”’

Norm D

|”’Norm R”’

Norm R

|”’Norm S”’

Norm S

|”’RI2 score”’

RI2 score

|-

|-

|1

|1

RI2 homepage
Research Integrity Risk Index Homepage

Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) is a diagnostic, bibliometric framework designed to assess institutional exposure to selected research-integrity-related risks.[1][2] Developed in 2025 by Lokman Meho (لقمان محّو), a professor and University Librarian at the American University of Beirut, RI² is presented as complementary to conventional global university rankings, which primarily emphasize publication volume and citation counts.[3][4][5] RI² evaluates universities using three institution-level bibliometric indicators associated with integrity risk signals in scholarly publishing: retracted journal articles, publications in journals that were subsequently delisted from major bibliographic databases, and institutional self-citation patterns.[6][7] The framework emerged amid broader debates over the limitations of citation- and volume-based ranking methodologies in capturing research integrity-related risks.[8][9][10][11]

How does RI² work?

[edit]

RI² assesses academic institutions using three bibliometric indicators derived from verifiable publications and citation data.

Delisted Journal Risk (D Rate) measures the percentage of an institution’s research output published in journals that were later delisted from Scopus or Web of Science following those databeses’ re-evaluation processes for editorial or publishing standards.[12][13][14]

Rertraction Risk (R-Rate) measures the number of retracted journal articles per 1,000 published articles over a defined publication window. Retraction data are compiled and cross-validated using multiple independent sources, including the Retraction Watch Database, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, with filtering procedures applied to exclude duplicate records and retractions unrelated to authorship issues.[15][16]

Self citation Rate (S-Rate) measures the proportion of citations to an institution’s publications that originate from the same institution. Citation data are sourced from InCites, and the indicator is reported descriptively and interpreted in relation to peer institutions within the same field classifications.[1][17][18]

All three indicators are field normalized and benchmarked against a fixed global refernce group comprising the 1,000 publishing universities worldwide. Each indicator is scaled to a 0–1 range using Min-Max normalization with caps applied to extreme values, and the normalized indicators are combined using equal weighting to generate the composite RI2 score.[1]

Based on their composite scores, institutions are assigned to one of five percentile-based risk tiers: Low Risk, Normal Variation, Watch List, High Risk, and Red Flag. Tier placement reflects relative exposure to integrity-related publishing risks and is not intended as an assessment of research quality, misconduct, or institutional performance.

Detailed methodology is available online on the official RI² website.

Tier Percentile Range Interpretation
Red Flag ≥ 95th Extreme anomalies; systemic integrity risk
High Risk ≥ 90th and < 95th Significant deviation from global norms
Watch List ≥ 75th and < 90th Moderately elevated risk; emerging concerns
Normal Variation ≥ 50th and < 75th Within expected global variance
Low Risk < 50th Strong adherence to publishing integrity norms

Output and Visualization

[edit]

RI² website provides tabular results for the world’s most publishing universities along with world maps that illustrate country-level D-Rate and R-rate, allowing examination of geographic variations in risk profiles.

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

[edit]

This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).[18]

Institution Name Country Field Articles D R S Norm D Norm R Norm S RI2 score
1 Yogyakarta State University Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,389 22.462 56.155 33.646 1 1 1 1
2 State University of Padang Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,309 14.896 48.892 22.932 1 1 1 1
3 Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (Deemed to be University) India Multidisciplinary 10,822 11.467 13.306 16.955 1 1 0.955 0.985
4 Universitas Sebelas Maret Indonesia Multidisciplinary 2,667 9.336 13.873 16.754 0.959 1 0.94 0.966
5 State University of Malang Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,569 11.982 19.757 16.143 1 1 0.894 0.964
6 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,286 12.208 7.776 13.357 1 1 0.682 0.894
7 Beni-Suef University Egypt Multidisciplinary 2,875 5.773 5.217 18.418 0.577 1 1 0.859
8 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur India STEM 2,000 13.35 9.5 14.54 1 0.988 0.541 0.843
9 Chung Shan Medical University Taiwan Medical & Health Sciences 1,605 2.679 3.738 11.09 0.636 1 0.892 0.842
10 University of Calabar Nigeria Multidisciplinary 1,298 5.161 14.637 21.308 0.512 1 1 0.837
11 Zarqa University Jordan Multidisciplinary 1,283 12.47 3.117 15.092 1 0.641 0.814 0.818
12 Guilan University of Medical Sciences Iran Medical & Health Sciences 1,466 1.841 20.463 12.394 0.411 1 1 0.803
13 Applied Science Private University Jordan Multidisciplinary 2,440 11.065 5.327 9.138 1 1 0.361 0.787
14 Sultan Idris Education University Malaysia Multidisciplinary 1,206 16.417 4.975 9.011 1 1 0.352 0.784
15 Qassim University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 5,378 8.423 4.09 12.778 0.861 0.842 0.638 0.78
16 Jazan University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 4,233 8.221 5.669 10.749 0.839 1 0.484 0.774
17 Taibah University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 3,337 7.941 3.596 14.415 0.809 0.74 0.762 0.771
18 Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology India Multidisciplinary 2,406 10.016 5.403 8.511 1 1 0.314 0.771
19 JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) India STEM 2,352 15.858 6.377 15.935 1 0.663 0.629 0.764
20 Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University India STEM 1,185 13.248 4.219 19.345 1 0.438 0.844 0.761
21 Daffodil International University Bangladesh Multidisciplinary 1,663 10.342 9.019 8.068 1 1 0.28 0.76
22 Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune India Medical & Health Sciences 1,239 7.102 4.035 6.26 1 1 0.244 0.748
23 University of Hail Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 3,195 7.042 9.076 11.071 0.713 1 0.508 0.74
24 Majmaah University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 1,893 10.353 7.923 7.286 1 1 0.221 0.74
25 Hashemite University Jordan Multidisciplinary 2,243 7.802 3.12 14.672 0.794 0.642 0.782 0.739
26 Vel Tech University India STEM 2,024 14.723 9.881 9.269 1 1 0.208 0.736
27 SRM Institute of Science and Technology India STEM 8,594 9.588 10.356 12.449 0.796 1 0.409 0.735
28 Al-Azhar University Egypt Multidisciplinary 6,326 4.947 3.477 21.34 0.489 0.715 1 0.735
29 Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Romania Medical & Health Sciences 1,376 5.45 0.726 15.242 1 0.199 1 0.733
30 Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation India STEM 3,967 17.091 14.368 9.032 1 1 0.193 0.731
31 Al Ahliyya Amman University Jordan Multidisciplinary 1,733 10.617 2.308 13.749 1 0.475 0.712 0.729
32 Inonu University Turkey Multidisciplinary 1,650 4.545 12.121 14.026 0.446 1 0.733 0.726
33 Duy Tan University Vietnam STEM 1,862 6.981 10.741 15.473 0.575 1 0.6 0.725
34 University of Sulaimani Iraq STEM 1,257 7.637 6.364 19.755 0.631 0.662 0.87 0.721
35 Zhejiang Shuren University China Multidisciplinary 1,218 9.031 6.568 7.513 0.926 1 0.238 0.721
36 Van Lang University Vietnam STEM 1,111 9 9 13.468 0.747 0.936 0.473 0.719
37 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Iran Medical & Health Sciences 4,820 1.763 2.697 13.372 0.39 0.739 1 0.709
38 Iran University of Medical Sciences Iran Medical & Health Sciences 6,807 2.086 4.407 9.221 0.476 1 0.641 0.706
39 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Kazakhstan STEM 1,682 10.344 4.161 18.836 0.861 0.432 0.812 0.702
40 Parul University India Multidisciplinary 1,209 12.572 3.308 9.986 1 0.681 0.426 0.702
41 King Faisal University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 4,961 9.352 2.62 12.323 0.96 0.539 0.603 0.701
42 University of Baghdad Iraq Multidisciplinary 6,805 14.136 0.44 20.136 1 0.09 1 0.696
43 Menoufia University Egypt Multidisciplinary 3,464 6.322 11.836 10.075 0.636 1 0.433 0.689
44 The Islamic University, Najaf Iraq STEM 1,554 11.454 21.879 7.68 0.955 1 0.108 0.687
45 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad India STEM 8,447 12.821 9.707 6.755 1 1 0.049 0.683
46 Al-Nahrain University Iraq STEM 1,636 11.674 1.833 20.007 0.973 0.19 0.886 0.683
47 Umm Al-Qura University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 5,818 7.803 4.64 8.252 0.795 0.955 0.294 0.681
48 University of Mosul Iraq STEM 2,454 10.024 2.037 29.072 0.833 0.211 1 0.681
49 Al Jouf University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 3,451 9.359 2.897 10.537 0.961 0.596 0.468 0.675
50 Shaqra University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 1,618 7.478 9.27 7.882 0.76 1 0.266 0.675
51 Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences India Multidisciplinary 1,118 8.944 25.939 5.695 0.917 1 0.1 0.672
52 Asia University Taiwan Taiwan Multidisciplinary 2,274 4.837 5.716 11.402 0.477 1 0.533 0.67
53 University of Kufa Iraq Multidisciplinary 1,778 13.442 1.687 13.099 1 0.347 0.662 0.67
54 Taif University Saudi Arabia STEM 5,301 8.866 10.564 10.124 0.735 1 0.262 0.666
55 University of Babylon Iraq STEM 2,471 19.83 0 23.22 1 0 1 0.666
56 Christ University, Bangalore India Multidisciplinary 2,289 6.596 3.931 11.256 0.665 0.809 0.522 0.666
57 Al-Farahidi University Iraq STEM 1,162 15.748 22.375 4.271 1 1 0 0.666
58 University of Bisha Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 1,323 9.674 2.267 11.412 0.995 0.466 0.534 0.665
59 Kerman University of Medical Sciences Iran Medical & Health Sciences 2,382 2.267 2.099 11.103 0.525 0.575 0.894 0.664
60 Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology India STEM 1,603 11.79 15.595 5.858 0.983 1 0 0.661
61 Al-Mustaqbal University College Iraq STEM 2,491 9.875 17.663 8.2 0.821 1 0.141 0.654
62 Osmania University India STEM 2,116 7.939 6.616 15.619 0.656 0.688 0.609 0.651
63 Universitas Hasanuddin Indonesia Multidisciplinary 2,828 11.103 0 16.859 1 0 0.948 0.649
64 King Khalid University Saudi Arabia STEM 11,363 7.7 7.832 13.806 0.636 0.814 0.495 0.648
65 Prince Sultan University (PSU) Saudi Arabia STEM 2,548 8.084 7.064 14.559 0.669 0.734 0.542 0.648
66 Al Baha University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 1,526 6.618 2.621 14.099 0.668 0.539 0.738 0.648
67 NITTE India Multidisciplinary 1,367 11.046 2.926 8.872 1 0.602 0.341 0.648
68 Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology Pakistan STEM 1,140 5.877 12.28 13.327 0.481 1 0.464 0.648
69 University Of Anbar Iraq STEM 1,646 12.272 3.645 14.819 1 0.379 0.558 0.646
70 Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Romania Medical & Health Sciences 3,180 4.245 0.314 10.684 1 0.086 0.838 0.641
71 Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management India STEM 2,731 11.973 6.59 9.704 0.999 0.685 0.236 0.64
72 Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University India Multidisciplinary 2,710 6.088 1.476 17.87 0.611 0.303 1 0.638
73 Bharathidasan University India STEM 2,392 7.566 6.688 15.4 0.625 0.695 0.595 0.638
74 Chouaib Doukkali University Morocco STEM 1,396 9.24 1.432 22.87 0.767 0.149 1 0.638
75 Gondar University Ethiopia Medical & Health Sciences 2,264 1.899 1.766 11.853 0.426 0.484 0.994 0.635
76 The University of Lahore Pakistan STEM 2,986 6.597 6.028 17.588 0.543 0.627 0.733 0.634
77 Karunya University India STEM 1,238 9.369 8.885 9.125 0.778 0.924 0.199 0.634
78 Tanta University Egypt Multidisciplinary 4,549 3.978 3.297 15.339 0.385 0.678 0.833 0.632
79 Mohamed I University Morocco Multidisciplinary 1,590 7.547 0.628 21.298 0.767 0.129 1 0.632
80 Ajman University United Arab Emirates Multidisciplinary 2,265 7.461 5.739 6.114 0.758 1 0.132 0.63
81 University of Nigeria Nigeria Multidisciplinary 3,382 3.134 4.73 12.489 0.295 0.973 0.616 0.628
82 Periyar University India STEM 1,339 9.559 16.43 7.409 0.794 1 0.091 0.628
83 Western Caspian University Azerbaijan STEM 1,157 5.185 9.507 13.442 0.423 0.988 0.472 0.628
84 Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University Saudi Arabia STEM 8,852 7.263 6.213 16.027 0.599 0.646 0.635 0.627
85 Symbiosis International University India Multidisciplinary 3,055 10.736 3.6 6.063 1 0.741 0.128 0.623
86 Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Iran Medical & Health Sciences 8,818 2.37 2.268 9.591 0.553 0.621 0.691 0.622
87 City University of Macau Macao Multidisciplinary 1,139 5.794 17.559 8.141 0.58 1 0.286 0.622
88 Graphic Era Hill University India Multidisciplinary 1,153 12.749 1.734 11 1 0.357 0.503 0.62
89 Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia STEM 8,736 9.752 7.783 9.654 0.81 0.809 0.232 0.617
90 Universitas Airlangga Indonesia Multidisciplinary 6,113 13.07 1.472 11.602 1 0.303 0.549 0.617
91 Mohammed V University in Rabat Morocco Multidisciplinary 4,596 6.157 1.087 19.08 0.618 0.223 1 0.614
92 Cairo University Egypt Multidisciplinary 12,134 3.873 2.554 16.753 0.374 0.525 0.94 0.613
93 Universidad Internacional de La Rioja Spain Multidisciplinary 1,357 5.453 3.684 11.255 0.543 0.758 0.522 0.608
94 Universidad de Tarapacá Chile Multidisciplinary 1,254 3.588 4.784 10.898 0.343 0.985 0.495 0.608
95 Padjadjaran University Indonesia Multidisciplinary 3,910 8.081 1.79 12.666 0.824 0.368 0.63 0.607
96 Firat University Turkey Multidisciplinary 2,389 8.915 1.255 12.929 0.914 0.258 0.65 0.607
97 University of Ilorin Nigeria Multidisciplinary 1,633 2.878 3.061 16.519 0.267 0.63 0.922 0.607
98 Karpagam Academy of Higher Education India STEM 1,420 7.605 9.859 8.954 0.628 1 0.188 0.605
99 Kalasalingam University India STEM 1,162 7.831 6.024 14.544 0.647 0.626 0.541 0.605
100 King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia Multidisciplinary 11,720 6.348 4.095 8.654 0.639 0.843 0.325 0.602
101 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia Multidisciplinary 8,628 6.131 2.897 12.217 0.616 0.596 0.595 0.602
102 Government College University Lahore Pakistan STEM 1,890 7.248 6.349 14.316 0.598 0.66 0.527 0.595
103 Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Brazil Multidisciplinary 2,465 2.555 7.302 11.626 0.233 1 0.55 0.594
104 University of Tikrit Iraq STEM 1,294 11.746 1.545 16.129 0.979 0.16 0.641 0.594
105 Universitas Andalas Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,539 6.692 1.949 13.613 0.676 0.401 0.701 0.593
106 Universitas Syiah Kuala Indonesia Multidisciplinary 1,350 14.444 0.74 12.571 1 0.152 0.622 0.591
107 Al-Ayen University Iraq STEM 1,402 10.271 8.559 6.356 0.854 0.89 0.024 0.589
108 Universidade Federal de Goiás Brazil Multidisciplinary 3,220 3.354 6.211 10.235 0.318 1 0.445 0.588
109 Manonmaniam Sundaranar University India STEM 1,369 7.669 7.304 11.829 0.634 0.759 0.37 0.588
110 University of Pune India STEM 4,539 15.884 3.745 11.768 1 0.389 0.366 0.585
111 University of Management and Technology Pakistan STEM 1,877 7.032 3.729 18.438 0.579 0.387 0.787 0.585
112 Abu Dhabi University United Arab Emirates Multidisciplinary 1,078 6.215 4.638 6.698 0.625 0.954 0.176 0.585
113 Islamia University Pakistan STEM 3,191 5.202 5.014 18.656 0.424 0.521 0.801 0.582
114 Sharda University India Multidisciplinary 1,516 7.189 3.957 7.062 0.729 0.814 0.204 0.582
115 University of Technology- Iraq Iraq STEM 2,909 5.912 2.406 23.633 0.484 0.25 1 0.578
116 Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics China Multidisciplinary 1,103 6.074 9.972 5.89 0.61 1 0.115 0.575
117 Mansoura University Egypt Multidisciplinary 7,172 5.368 2.509 13.146 0.534 0.516 0.666 0.572
118 Chandigarh University India STEM 4,716 8.015 9.541 6.941 0.663 0.992 0.061 0.572
119 Annamalai University India STEM 2,050 13.121 4.39 10.119 1 0.456 0.262 0.572
120 Kafrelsheikh University Egypt STEM 2,804 5.848 3.566 19.668 0.479 0.37 0.865 0.571
121 Lviv Polytechnic National University Ukraine STEM 1,707 8.025 0.585 21.652 0.664 0.06 0.99 0.571
122 SASTRA India STEM 1,325 4.754 9.056 12.096 0.386 0.942 0.387 0.571
123 Visvesvaraya Technological University India STEM 6,545 11.993 5.5 8.183 1 0.572 0.14 0.57
124 Ain Shams University Egypt Multidisciplinary 7,203 4.539 1.665 16.435 0.445 0.342 0.916 0.568
125 Al-Mustansiriyah University Iraq STEM 2,566 9.586 1.558 17.786 0.796 0.162 0.746 0.568
126 Ibn Tofail University Morocco STEM 2,182 8.524 0 21.722 0.706 0 0.994 0.567
127 Vellore Institute of Technology India STEM 10,765 5.852 6.967 13.789 0.479 0.724 0.493 0.566
128 Sohag University Egypt STEM 1,687 5.453 2.371 23.626 0.446 0.246 1 0.564
129 University Utara Malaysia Malaysia Multidisciplinary 1,648 15.898 1.213 10.179 1 0.249 0.441 0.563
130 University of International Business and Economics China Multidisciplinary 1,476 5.826 4.742 6.001 0.583 0.976 0.123 0.561
131 Hawassa University Ethiopia Multidisciplinary 1,409 2.625 4.968 10.194 0.24 1 0.442 0.561
132 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University India STEM 2,861 11.254 5.592 8.528 0.938 0.581 0.161 0.56
133 Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin Malaysia Multidisciplinary 1,345 7.434 2.23 10.504 0.755 0.459 0.465 0.56
134 Future University in Egypt Egypt STEM 1,979 7.731 10.611 6.387 0.639 1 0.026 0.555
135 VIT-AP University India STEM 1,597 9.016 5.009 12.274 0.748 0.521 0.398 0.555
136 University of Mutah Jordan Multidisciplinary 1,174 9.625 0.851 10.968 0.99 0.175 0.5 0.555
137 Rajshahi University Bangladesh Multidisciplinary 1,097 7.748 1.823 10.956 0.789 0.375 0.5 0.554
138 Sakarya University Turkey Multidisciplinary 2,181 3.943 1.375 17.416 0.381 0.283 0.99 0.552
139 Northern Borders University Saudi Arabia STEM 2,049 11.908 3.416 10.833 0.993 0.355 0.307 0.552
140 University of the Punjab Pakistan STEM 4,397 8.687 4.775 12.832 0.72 0.496 0.433 0.55
141 Vietnam National University, Hanoi Vietnam Multidisciplinary 2,532 6.516 1.974 11.942 0.657 0.406 0.575 0.546
142 Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia Multidisciplinary 9,418 8.059 1.805 10.028 0.822 0.371 0.429 0.541
143 Sunway University Malaysia Multidisciplinary 2,583 5.381 3.484 9.212 0.535 0.717 0.367 0.54
144 Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana India Multidisciplinary 1,175 9.276 2.553 6.16 0.952 0.525 0.135 0.538
145 Bharati Vidyapeeth University India Multidisciplinary 1,469 13.886 2.722 5.011 1 0.56 0.048 0.536
146 Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University Ukraine Multidisciplinary 2,515 5.168 0.397 17.179 0.513 0.081 0.972 0.522
147 UCSI University Malaysia Multidisciplinary 1,579 7.916 2.533 7.5 0.807 0.521 0.237 0.522
148 Yarmouk University Jordan Multidisciplinary 1,862 7.518 2.148 8.97 0.764 0.442 0.349 0.518
149 Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia Multidisciplinary 7,023 11.804 1.708 6.912 1 0.351 0.192 0.514
150 Minia University Egypt Multidisciplinary 2,427 4.738 2.472 11.659 0.467 0.508 0.553 0.509
151 Qena University Egypt Multidisciplinary 1,638 3.907 3.052 11.249 0.378 0.628 0.522 0.509
152 China Medical University Taichung Taiwan Multidisciplinary 6,184 4.932 3.395 8.84 0.487 0.699 0.339 0.508
153 Damanhour University Egypt Multidisciplinary 1,214 3.624 2.471 13.074 0.347 0.508 0.661 0.505
154 Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University South Africa Multidisciplinary 1,167 3.513 0.856 19.274 0.335 0.176 1 0.504

External reception and Adoption

[edit]

RI² has received coverage in international scientific and higher-education media. A 2025 article in Nature discussed institutional retraction patterns and cited RI² data in its analysis of universities with high numbers of retracted publications.[2] University World News reported on the development of RI² as a response to concerns about metric-driven distortions in global university rankings, describing the index as a diagnostic tool rather than a punitive ranking.[5]

Regional and national media outlets have also reported on RI² findings in country-specific contexts. In India, Science Chronicle discussed universities classified in the highest RI² risk tiers in the context of debates on research assessment and retractions.[19] Coverage in Al-Ghad (Jordan) similarly reported on RI² results in relation to national higher-education institutions.[20]

Beyond media reporting, RI² has been referenced in scholarly and policy-oriented discussions on integrity-aware approaches to research assessment. A commentary published by the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (ISAIL) cited RI² in discussions on incorporating research-integrity considerations into institutional evaluation frameworks.[4]

In 2026, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Universities of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued a government report titled Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²), presenting RI² as an early-warning, data-driven framework for assessing institution-level integrity-related publishing risks and offering recommendations for Egyptian universities and research-governance bodies.[21]

Following the introduction of RI², subsequent work in the research-assessment literature has employed institution-level indicators similar to those proposed in the framework. In particular, retractions, publications in delisted journals, and self-citation were recently used by John P. A. Ioannidis and collaborators as adjustment factors in an institution-level percentile ranking framework.[22]

  1. ^ a b c Meho, Lokman I. (2025). “Gaming the metrics: bibliometric anomalies in global university rankings and the research integrity risk index (RI2)”. Scientometrics. 130 (11): 6683–6726. doi:10.1007/s11192-025-05480-2. ISSN 0138-9130.
  2. ^ a b Naddaf, Miryam (2025-06-06). “‘Integrity index’ flags universities with high retraction rates”. Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01727-3. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 40481200.
  3. ^ Chawla, Dalmeet Singh. “Fourteen universities may have manipulated institutional rankings, analysis finds”. Chemistry World. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  4. ^ a b Rohra, Sanjay (June 10, 2025). “Integrating Research Integrity into Academic Rankings – A Step Forward”. Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  5. ^ a b Sawahel, Wagdy (June 30, 2025). “New tool aims to deter gaming in global university rankings”. University World News. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  6. ^ Baty, Phil (October 3, 2025). “Protecting the integrity of university rankings: Addressing rare cases of attempted manipulation is built into the DNA of THE’s rankings”. Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  7. ^ Qeblawi, Linda (August 9, 2025). “Discover the Hidden Truth Behind University Research: The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²)”. UNIRANKS World’s Largest University Rankings. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  8. ^ Ahlers, Anna L.; Christmann-Budian, Stephanie (2023-10-01). “The politics of university rankings in China”. Higher Education. 86 (4): 751–770. doi:10.1007/s10734-023-01014-y. ISSN 1573-174X.
  9. ^ Bellantuono, Loredana; Monaco, Alfonso; Amoroso, Nicola; Aquaro, Vincenzo; Bardoscia, Marco; Loiotile, Annamaria Demarinis; Lombardi, Angela; Tangaro, Sabina; Bellotti, Roberto (2022-03-23). “Territorial bias in university rankings: a complex network approach”. Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 4995. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-08859-w. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8943138. PMID 35322106.
  10. ^ Hamann, Julian; Ringel, Leopold (2023-10-01). “The discursive resilience of university rankings”. Higher Education. 86 (4): 845–863. doi:10.1007/s10734-022-00990-x. ISSN 1573-174X.
  11. ^ Szluka, Péter; Csajbók, Edit; Győrffy, Balázs (2023-08-30). “Relationship between bibliometric indicators and university ranking positions”. Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 14193. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35306-1. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10468493. PMID 37648684.
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