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Nonprofit · Grand Rapids · United States

Acton Institute

In research, Acton Institute stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,952 of 17,446 worldwide), Computer Science (#2,236 of 6,336 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#10,527 of 14,833 worldwide), over all time.

acton.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#8,708
of 34,923
Rank in United States
#1,794
of 7,310
Research works
811
▼ 22% vs 2018-21
Citations
14k
17.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.4%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.86×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
36%
world 40%
International
4%
world 18%
Acton Institute

What is Acton Institute known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Physical SciencesDomain #5,952 of 17,446 15.5%496
Computer ScienceField #2,236 of 6,336 18.4%134
Social SciencesDomain #10,527 of 14,833 12.1%181
EngineeringField #6,903 of 9,532 16.5%277

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Acton Institute sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Acton Institute work in?

In 2022-now, 52% of research at Acton Institute is in Physical Sciences, 22% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Computer Science (22%), Medicine (16%), Engineering (14%). It does 1.3× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 23 fractional works · 51.5% of its workComputer Science: 10 fractional works · 22.3% of its workInformation Systems: 4 fractional works · 9.2% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 2 fractional works · 5.2% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 4.9% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSignal Processing: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Science Applications: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 7 fractional works · 14.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 4.8% of its workMechanical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 3.3% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 1 fractional works · 2.7% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMechanics of Materials: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMedia Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 2 fractional works · 3.5% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 2 fractional works · 3.5% of its workChemical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 2.9% of its workBioengineering: 1 fractional works · 2.9% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 2.9% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 2.9% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workInstrumentation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnvironmental Science: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workModeling and Simulation: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPaleontology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiomaterials: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSocial Sciences: 10 fractional works · 21.8% of its workArts and Humanities: 4 fractional works · 9.5% of its workHistory: 2 fractional works · 5.4% of its workReligious studies: 1 fractional works · 2.2% of its workClassics: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPhilosophy: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMusic: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 2 fractional works · 3.7% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workUrban Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1 fractional works · 3.2% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 1 fractional works · 3.2% of its workPsychology: 1 fractional works · 3.1% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 1.8% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workApplied Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHealth Sciences: 8 fractional works · 18.5% of its workMedicine: 7 fractional works · 15.8% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 2 fractional works · 4.9% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 1 fractional works · 1.7% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSurgery: 0 fractional works · 1.1% of its workRheumatology: 0 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth Informatics: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNeurology: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workHematology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workInfectious Diseases: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRehabilitation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 2.1% of its workHealth Information Management: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmall Animals: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 4 fractional works · 8.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 4.5% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 2.5% of its workCancer Research: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workGenetics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 2.3% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workInsect Science: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPlant Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workNeurology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workALL ITS WORKActon Institute45fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences8%Physical Sciences52%Health Sciences19%Social Sciences22%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 24 fields, with their numbers
    1. Computer Science1022.3%
    2. Engineering714.5%
    3. Energy23.5%
    4. Chemical Engineering12.9%
    5. Chemistry12.9%
    6. Physics and Astronomy11.7%
    7. Environmental Science11.7%
    8. Mathematics01.1%
    9. Earth and Planetary Sciences00.4%
    10. Materials Science00.4%
    1. Arts and Humanities49.5%
    2. Social Sciences23.7%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting13.2%
    4. Psychology13.1%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance11.5%
    6. Decision Sciences00.7%
    1. Medicine715.8%
    2. Health Professions12.1%
    3. Nursing00.4%
    4. Veterinary00.2%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology24.5%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences12.3%
    3. Neuroscience11.3%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology00.2%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.48× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.84× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.77× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 8.45× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.88× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 2.87× its world share, 10 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 3.82× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.97× its world share, 6 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.34× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.94× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.78× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.78× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.82× its world share, 7 worksMedicineNursing: 0.75× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.81× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.28× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.99× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.76× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.72× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.02× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.30× its world share, 2 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Chemical Engineering, 8.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 24 fields, with their numbers
  1. Chemical Engineering8.45×1 works
  2. Energy3.82×2 works
  3. Arts and Humanities3.28×4 works
  4. Computer Science2.87×10 works
  5. Chemistry1.88×1 works
  6. Veterinary1.81×0 works
  7. Psychology1.02×1 works
  8. Business, Management and Accounting0.99×1 works
  9. Engineering0.97×6 works
  10. Mathematics0.94×0 works
  11. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.84×2 works
  12. Medicine0.82×7 works
  13. Physics and Astronomy0.78×1 works
  14. Health Professions0.78×1 works
  15. Neuroscience0.77×1 works
  16. Decision Sciences0.76×0 works
  17. Nursing0.75×0 works
  18. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.72×1 works
  19. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.48×1 works
  20. Environmental Science0.34×1 works
  21. Social Sciences0.30×2 works
  22. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.26×0 works
  23. Immunology and Microbiology0.15×0 works
  24. Materials Science0.11×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Acton Institute?

Ranked on the quality score, John A. Swets, Jaime R. Carbonell and Paul B. Benni lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Acton Institute.

  1. 1 John A. Swets United States · #107,034 worldwide 34k citations · 137 works
  2. 2 Jaime R. Carbonell United States · #528,986 worldwide 1.9k citations · 41 works
  3. 3 Paul B. Benni United States · #600,417 worldwide 1.9k citations · 93 works
  4. 4 Allan M. Collins United States · #780,424 worldwide 10k citations · 30 works
  5. 5 Richard R. Burton United States · #1,112,296 worldwide 2.4k citations · 29 works
  6. 6 Raymond S. Tomlinson United States · #1,206,126 worldwide 668 citations · 26 works
  7. 7 William R. Crowther United States · #1,459,725 worldwide 673 citations · 23 works
  8. 8 Sheldon Baron United States · #1,678,266 worldwide 2.2k citations · 83 works
  9. 9 Eric Benjamin United States · #1,813,863 worldwide 656 citations · 17 works
  10. 10 Severo M. Ornstein United States · #1,946,127 worldwide 656 citations · 29 works
All ranked researchers at Acton Institute

What are the most cited papers from Acton Institute?

The most cited paper from Acton Institute is "Man-Computer Symbiosis" (J. C. R. Licklider, 1960), with 1,866 citations. Next come "Random Process Model of Rough Surfaces" (903) and "Damping of Flexural Waves by a Constrained Viscoelastic Layer" (746).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Man-Computer Symbiosis J. C. R. Licklider · IRE transactions on human factors in electronics Mar 1960 1,866
2 Random Process Model of Rough Surfaces Priyambada Nayak · Journal of Lubrication Technology Jul 1971 903
3 Damping of Flexural Waves by a Constrained Viscoelastic Layer Edward Kerwin · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Jul 1959 746
4 Taking different perspectives on a story. James W. Pichert, Richard C. Anderson · Journal of Educational Psychology Open access Aug 1977 582
5 Situation Awareness and the Cognitive Management of Complex Systems Marilyn Jager Adams, Yvette J. Tenney, Richard W. Pew · Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Mar 1995 534
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Acton Institute?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Requirements Engineering, Agile Software Development, Empirical Studies, User-Centered Design, Glycemic Control, Insulin Therapy, Heat Transfer and Biosensors.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Requirements Engineering4▲ 214×3 topics
  2. Machine Learning3▲ 1.93×13 topics
  3. Agile Software Development2▲ 218×1 topic
  4. Empirical Studies2▲ 218×1 topic
  5. User-Centered Design2▲ 191×2 topics
  6. Glycemic Control2▲ 28×3 topics
  7. Insulin Therapy2▲ 35×3 topics
  8. Artificial Intelligence2▲ 2.6×4 topics
  9. Cardiovascular Disease2▲ 3.2×2 topics
  10. Heat Transfer2▲ 7.5×3 topics
  11. Biosensors2▲ 7.0×3 topics
  12. Complications2▲ 6.9×3 topics
  13. Calvinism1▲ 140×1 topic
  14. Reformation1▲ 112×1 topic
  15. Convolutional Neural Networks1▲ 3.9×4 topics
  16. Data-Driven1▲ 294×1 topic
  17. Diabetes1▲ 5.9×1 topic
  18. History1▲ 4.2×2 topics
  19. Hypoglycemia1▲ 65×1 topic
  20. Ion-Selective Electrodes1▲ 48×1 topic
  21. Optical Sensors1▲ 33×1 topic
  22. Personas1▲ 294×1 topic
  23. Risk Management1▲ 6.2×2 topics
  24. Big Data1▲ 2.9×3 topics
  25. Medical Imaging1▲ 4.9×4 topics
  26. Cybersecurity1▲ 9.7×2 topics
  27. Nanogenerators1▲ 18×1 topic
  28. Wearable1▲ 18×1 topic
  29. Aromaticity1▲ 131×1 topic
  30. France1▲ 135×1 topic
  31. Geothermal Energy1▲ 116×1 topic
  32. Global Christianity1▲ 150×1 topic
  33. Ground Source Heat Pump1▲ 116×1 topic
  34. Helical Polymers1▲ 131×1 topic
  35. Human-Computer Interaction1▲ 12×1 topic
  36. Information Security1▲ 23×1 topic
  37. Policy Compliance1▲ 55×1 topic
  38. Short-Term Missions1▲ 150×1 topic
  39. Sociopolitical1▲ 66×1 topic
  40. Usability1▲ 45×1 topic

Which research topics does Acton Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Software Engineering Techniques and Practices, Reformation and Early Modern Christianity, Analytical Chemistry and Sensors and Persona Design and Applications.

Software Engineering Tec…2Software Engineering Techniques and Practices: 2 fractional worksReformation and Early Mo…1Reformation and Early Modern Christianity: 1 fractional worksAnalytical Chemistry and Sensors: 1 fractional worksPersona Design and Appli…1Persona Design and Applications: 1 fractional worksDiabetes Management and …1Diabetes Management and Research: 1 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 1 fractional worksUsability and User Interface Design: 1 fractional worksInformation and Cyber Se…1Information and Cyber Security: 1 fractional worksFrench Historical and Cultural Studies: 1 fractional worksGeothermal Energy Systems and Applications: 1 fractional works
Information SystemsHistoryBioengineeringHuman-Computer Interaction3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Software Engineering Techniques and Practices Information Systems 2 works
  2. 2 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 1 works
  3. 3 Analytical Chemistry and Sensors Bioengineering 1 works
  4. 4 Persona Design and Applications Human-Computer Interaction 1 works
  5. 5 Diabetes Management and Research Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism 1 works
  6. 6 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials Biomedical Engineering 1 works
  7. 7 Usability and User Interface Design Human-Computer Interaction 1 works
  8. 8 Information and Cyber Security Information Systems 1 works
  9. 9 French Historical and Cultural Studies History 1 works
  10. 10 Geothermal Energy Systems and Applications Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available36.0%not open64.0%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors3.9%domestic only96.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Acton Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 22% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Acton Institute as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00010% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%Acton Institute0.00024% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Acton Institute over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

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Acton Institute on Science Explorer

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