10%
D) Open Science & Accessibility

The Open Science & Accessibility indicator evaluates how openly research outputs are shared, accessed, indexed, and made available to the global academic community. This category focuses on the ability of research to move beyond closed systems and reach researchers, students, institutions, policymakers, and society at large.

Rather than measuring research only by publication volume or citation impact, this indicator examines whether scholarly work is openly available, discoverable, reusable, and connected to trusted open knowledge infrastructures. It helps identify entities that support transparency, equitable access, and wider participation in research.

The indicator combines open access performance, repository availability, metadata quality, indexing openness, and accessibility signals to provide a balanced understanding of how research contributes to an inclusive and globally accessible knowledge ecosystem.

Open science is becoming one of the strongest foundations of modern research quality. When research is accessible, more people can read it, verify it, build on it, and use it to solve real-world challenges.

This indicator matters because it highlights entities that do not only produce research, but also make that research easier to find, access, share, and reuse. It supports a fairer research ecosystem where knowledge is not limited only to institutions or individuals with paid access.

Weight: 2%

Commitment to openly accessible scholarly knowledge

The Open Access Works Score evaluates the extent to which an entity contributes to openly available research outputs across the global scholarly ecosystem.

This indicator focuses on the proportion of research works that are accessible without subscription or payment barriers, supporting wider visibility, accessibility, and knowledge dissemination.

It considers:

• Share of openly accessible research outputs
• Participation in open science ecosystems
• Accessibility of scholarly publications
• Contribution to transparent research dissemination
• Availability of research for global audiences

This helps recognize entities supporting equitable access to academic knowledge and open scholarly communication.

Weight: 1.5%

Repository-based accessibility and self-archiving practices

The Green Open Access Score evaluates the extent to which research outputs are deposited and preserved through institutional repositories, subject repositories, and self-archiving infrastructures.

This indicator focuses on long-term accessibility, repository participation, and contribution to sustainable open knowledge preservation.

It considers:

• Presence of works in institutional repositories
• Participation in self-archiving initiatives
• Repository preservation practices
• Accessibility through open archives
• Long-term research availability

This helps identify entities contributing to sustainable and decentralized research accessibility.

Weight: 1.5%

Publishing through fully open access channels

The Gold Open Access Score evaluates participation in fully open access publishing ecosystems where research outputs are immediately accessible to the public.

This indicator measures engagement with journals and platforms that support unrestricted access to scholarly publications.

It considers:

• Publications in fully open access journals
• Participation in open publishing ecosystems
• Immediate accessibility of scholarly works
• Contribution to open dissemination models
• Visibility through open publishing infrastructures

This helps recognize entities supporting barrier-free scholarly publishing and broader research visibility.

Weight: 1%

Transparency and discoverability of research information

The Open Metadata Score evaluates the completeness, quality, and openness of metadata associated with scholarly outputs.

This indicator focuses on whether research information is structured, discoverable, interoperable, and connected across scholarly infrastructures.

It considers:

• Availability of structured research metadata
• Metadata completeness and consistency
• Interoperability across scholarly systems
• Discoverability of research records
• Contribution to connected research infrastructures

This helps strengthen transparency, visibility, and integration across the global research ecosystem.

Weight: 1%

Long-term preservation and research accessibility

The Repository & Archiving Score evaluates the extent to which research outputs are preserved within stable and trusted archival infrastructures.

This indicator focuses on sustainability, digital preservation, and long-term public accessibility of scholarly knowledge.

It considers:

• Presence in trusted repositories and archives
• Long-term preservation practices
• Stability of digital research records
• Accessibility of archived scholarly outputs
• Participation in preservation infrastructures

This helps recognize entities contributing to sustainable scholarly preservation and knowledge continuity.

Weight: 1%

Clarity and openness of research usage rights

The License Transparency Score evaluates whether scholarly outputs provide clear and transparent licensing information regarding access, sharing, and reuse.

This indicator focuses on openness standards and the ability of users to understand how research content may be used responsibly.

It considers:

• Presence of clear licensing information
• Use of open and standardized licenses
• Transparency of reuse permissions
• Accessibility of licensing details
• Alignment with open science principles

This helps promote responsible knowledge sharing and clearer research reuse practices.

Weight: 1%

Ease of finding and accessing scholarly research

The Accessibility & Discoverability Score evaluates how easily research outputs can be discovered, accessed, and connected across scholarly platforms and infrastructures.

This indicator focuses on visibility, indexing connectivity, and user accessibility within the global research ecosystem.

It considers:

• Discoverability across scholarly systems
• Accessibility of research outputs
• Connectivity with academic infrastructures
• Visibility within open knowledge ecosystems
• Ease of public and academic access

This helps recognize entities improving the global reach and usability of scholarly knowledge.

The UNIRANKS Open Index methodology is built around multiple interconnected indicators designed to evaluate research ecosystems from different perspectives, including scholarly impact, openness, collaboration, trust, growth, societal contribution, and ecosystem alignment.

Each indicator explores a unique dimension of research performance to provide a broader and more balanced understanding of global scholarly activity beyond traditional ranking models.

A) Core Output & Scale: 15%

Measuring the Foundation of Research Activity

Evaluate scholarly production volume, publication growth, productivity performance, and research scale across the global academic ecosystem.

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B) Impact & Excellence: 20%

Understanding Scholarly Influence and Research Recognition

Analyze citation impact, academic influence, research excellence, and the global visibility of scholarly contributions.

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C) Quality, Trust & Integrity: 15%

Evaluating Reliability and Research Credibility

Measure research trustworthiness through integrity indicators, publication quality signals, indexing standards, and scholarly reliability metrics.

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D) Open Science & Accessibility: 10%

Measuring Openness and Knowledge Accessibility

Assess open access availability, public research visibility, accessibility practices, and participation in open scholarly ecosystems.

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E) Collaboration & Global Reach: 15%

Mapping Research Connectivity Across Borders

Evaluate international collaboration, institutional partnerships, co-authorship networks, and global scholarly engagement.

Explore Collaboration & Global Reach →

F) Portfolio Strength & Momentum: 10%

Analyzing Research Diversity and Development Trends

Measure the breadth, sustainability, specialization, and evolving momentum of scholarly research portfolios over time.

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G) Knowledge Transfer & Societal Influence: 10%

Measuring Research Contribution Beyond Academia

Evaluate how research supports innovation, policy development, industry engagement, education, healthcare, sustainability, and societal advancement.

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H) OI Alignment: 05%

Measuring Ecosystem Compatibility and Open Index Readiness

Assess how effectively entities align with the UNIRANKS Open Index framework, structured scholarly ecosystems, openness standards, and research connectivity models.

Explore OI Alignment →

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