ARWU vs. alternative ARWU ranking: What are the consequences for lower ranked universities?

Abstract

The ARWU ranking has been a source of academic debate since its development in 2003, but the same does not account for the Alternative ARWU ranking. Namely, the Alternative ARWU ranking attempts to reduce the influence of the prestigious indicators Alumni and Award which are based on the number of received Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals by alumni or university staff. However, the consequences of the reduction of the two indicators have not been scrutinized in detail. Therefore, we propose a statistical approach to the comparison of the two rankings and an in-depth analysis of the Alternative ARWU groups. The obtained results, which are based on the official data, can provide new insights into the nature of the Alternative ARWU ranking. The presented approach might initiate further research on the Alternative ARWU ranking and on the impact of university ranking’s list length.