Global Rankings: Thousands Respond to The Survey

David Jobbins
The opinions of more than 13,000 academics will be used to build a picture of the standard of teaching and research in the world's universities for the 2010 Times Higher Education World University Ranking.Despite an increased sample size, the findings will account for 20% of final scores, compared with 40% under the methodology used from 2004 to 2009. Meanwhile its main rival, QS, is introducing a rating system to better reflect the diversity of institutions by measuring their broader missions.The inclusion of both research and teaching means THE can claim its 2010 rankings will include the first worldwide reputation-based indicator of teaching quality. Thomson Reuters, the exclusive data supplier for the rankings, confirmed that 13,388 people had responded to its Academic Reputation Survey launched in March. "It is an excellent response in terms of volume," THE Editor Ann Mroz said. "But it is not just size that matters. The respondents were carefully targeted as experienced scholars by an invitation-only survey to ensure they are representative of their region and subject areas."We have a very high-quality sample that is much more representative and rigorous than anything the rankings have used before."Most respondents (38%) are from the Americas, 30% from the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions and 28% from Europe. Engineering and technology supplied marginally more respondents (23%) than physical sciences (21%) and social sciences (18%).
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0129, 20 June 2010