Athabasca University
In research, Athabasca University stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,009 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,492 of 5,988 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#5,056 of 9,902 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Computer Science Applications (Computer Science Applications is 14.0× its share of world research).
- World rank, 2022-now
- #4,091 of 22,385 · #2,592 all time
- Rank in Canada
- #80 of 305
- Research works
- 3.4k ▲ 9% vs 2018-21
- Citations
- 65k 18.8 per fractional work
- Top-10% rate
- 10.5% all institutions 10.0%
- vs its own fields
- 0.98× 1.00× is exactly expected
- Open access
- 37% world 40%
- International
- 21% world 18%
What is Athabasca University known for in research?
The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.
| Field | World rank | Where that sits | Top-10% rate | Works | All time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social SciencesDomain | #3,009 of 9,585 | 9.0% | 301 | #1481 | |
| Social SciencesField | #2,492 of 5,988 | 8.4% | 165 | #1221 | |
| Health SciencesDomain | #5,056 of 9,902 | 13.1% | 101 | #4307 | |
| Computer ScienceField | #2,260 of 4,417 | 11.0% | 85 | #1118 | |
| Physical SciencesDomain | #6,463 of 10,670 | 10.5% | 173 | #2640 | |
| PsychologyField | #1,350 of 2,121 | 11.5% | 62 | #1265 |
Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Athabasca University 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 of those standings moved
The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.
- Social Sciences#1,481 #3,009
- Social Sciences#1,221 #2,492
- Health Sciences#4,307 #5,056
- Computer Science#1,118 #2,260
- Physical Sciences#2,640 #6,463
- Psychology#1,265 #1,350
A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.
Which fields of science does Athabasca University work in?
In 2022-now, 50% of research at Athabasca University is in Social Sciences, 29% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (27%), Computer Science (14%), Psychology (10%). It does 2.0× the world's share of Social Sciences.
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 25 fields, with their numbers
- Social Sciences33349.8%
- Social Sciences18327.4%
- Psychology6810.2%
- Business, Management and Accounting314.6%
- Arts and Humanities284.1%
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance172.6%
- Decision Sciences60.9%
- Physical Sciences19128.5%
- Computer Science9113.6%
- Engineering324.7%
- Environmental Science294.3%
- Physics and Astronomy142.1%
- Earth and Planetary Sciences131.9%
- Mathematics71.0%
- Materials Science20.3%
- Chemistry20.3%
- Chemical Engineering10.1%
- Energy10.1%
- Health Sciences10916.4%
- Medicine639.4%
- Health Professions406.0%
- Nursing50.7%
- Dentistry10.2%
- Life Sciences355.3%
What does Athabasca University specialise in?
Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Computer Science Applications takes 14.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.
- Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 23.1 works14×
Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.
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.
Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 3.3×. Every wedge is a field page.
All 25 fields, with their numbers
- Psychology3.34×68 works
- Health Professions2.29×40 works
- Social Sciences2.17×183 works
- Computer Science1.75×91 works
- Nursing1.44×5 works
- Arts and Humanities1.44×28 works
- Business, Management and Accounting1.43×31 works
- Neuroscience1.26×14 works
- Earth and Planetary Sciences1.22×13 works
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.21×17 works
- Physics and Astronomy0.93×14 works
- Decision Sciences0.91×6 works
- Environmental Science0.87×29 works
- Mathematics0.85×7 works
- Medicine0.49×63 works
- Chemical Engineering0.42×1 works
- Dentistry0.41×1 works
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.36×1 works
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.32×10 works
- Engineering0.32×32 works
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.26×9 works
- Immunology and Microbiology0.19×1 works
- Chemistry0.19×2 works
- Energy0.11×1 works
- Materials Science0.10×2 works
- Psychology 3.3×
- Health Professions 2.3×
- Social Sciences 2.2×
- Computer Science 1.8×
- Nursing 1.4×
- Arts and Humanities 1.4×
- Business, Management and Accounting 1.4×
- Neuroscience 1.3×
- Earth and Planetary Sciences 1.2×
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance 1.2×
- Physics and Astronomy 0.9×
- Decision Sciences 0.9×
- Environmental Science 0.9×
- Mathematics 0.8×
- Medicine 0.5×
- Chemical Engineering 0.4×
- Dentistry 0.4×
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics 0.4×
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences 0.3×
- Engineering 0.3×
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 0.3×
- Immunology and Microbiology 0.2×
- Chemistry 0.2×
- Energy 0.1×
- Materials Science 0.1×
Who are the top researchers at Athabasca University?
Ranked on the quality score, Terry D. Anderson, Kinshuk Kinshuk and Junye Wang lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Athabasca University.
- 1
Terry D. Anderson
Canada · #128,382 worldwide 31k citations · 248 works
- 2
Kinshuk Kinshuk
Canada · #224,941 worldwide 13k citations · 464 works
- 3
Junye Wang
Canada · #331,034 worldwide 6.8k citations · 218 works
- 4
Sabine Graf
Canada · #439,204 worldwide 5.6k citations · 164 works
- 5
Jennifer Knopp‐Sihota
Canada · #496,492 worldwide 1.7k citations · 55 works
- 6
Janice Lynne Thomas
Canada · #497,814 worldwide 3k citations · 42 works
- 7
M. Ali Akber Dewan
Canada · #535,063 worldwide 2.8k citations · 131 works
- 8
Kathleen Leslie
Canada · #557,478 worldwide 899 citations · 74 works
- 9
Dianne Conrad
Canada · #641,074 worldwide 1.7k citations · 94 works
- 10
Faria Sana
Canada · #691,424 worldwide 1.4k citations · 65 works
Which keywords describe research at Athabasca University?
By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Online Learning, Globalization, Student Engagement, Social Justice, Mental Health, Identity, Higher Education and Learning Analytics.
- Cultural Competence
- Collaborative Learning
- Historical Trauma
- Self-Regulation
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge
- Decolonization
- Immigration
- Blended Learning
- Feminism
- Distance Education
- Motivation
- Massive Open Online Courses
- Neoliberalism
- MOOCs
- Higher Education
- Student Engagement
- Social Justice
- Climate Change
- Mental Health
- Machine Learning
- Globalization
- Online Learning
- Public Health
- Educational Technology
- Identity
- E-Learning
- Learning Analytics
- Nationalism
- Educational Data Mining
- Instructional Design
- Health Equity
- Student Satisfaction
- Cognitive Engagement
- Community of Inquiry
- Lifelong Learning
- Informal Learning
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- Settler Colonialism
- Indigenous Health
- Metacognition
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
- Globalization36▲ 2.7×43 topics
- Machine Learning35▲ 1.56×44 topics
- Online Learning30▲ 5.3×7 topics
- Mental Health28▲ 3.0×29 topics
- Public Health24▲ 2.5×30 topics
- Climate Change24▲ 1.30×47 topics
- Educational Technology23▲ 3.0×19 topics
- Social Justice22▲ 5.5×21 topics
- Identity21▲ 4.4×26 topics
- Student Engagement20▲ 7.4×6 topics
- E-Learning19▲ 3.0×10 topics
- Higher Education19▲ 5.3×15 topics
- Learning Analytics15▲ 19×2 topics
- MOOCs15▲ 25×2 topics
- Nationalism15▲ 5.1×12 topics
- Neoliberalism15▲ 6.2×16 topics
- Educational Data Mining15▲ 26×1 topic
- Massive Open Online Courses15▲ 26×1 topic
- Instructional Design14▲ 29×3 topics
- Motivation12▲ 4.5×7 topics
- Health Equity12▲ 6.1×6 topics
- Distance Education11▲ 8.7×3 topics
- Student Satisfaction11▲ 9.0×2 topics
- Feminism11▲ 5.5×10 topics
- Cognitive Engagement10▲ 23×2 topics
- Blended Learning10▲ 11×1 topic
- Community of Inquiry10▲ 28×1 topic
- Immigration10▲ 14×3 topics
- Lifelong Learning10▲ 7.2×8 topics
- Decolonization10▲ 18×6 topics
- Informal Learning9▲ 11×4 topics
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge9▲ 30×2 topics
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems9▲ 39×2 topics
- Self-Regulation9▲ 7.3×4 topics
- Settler Colonialism9▲ 31×2 topics
- Historical Trauma8▲ 82×1 topic
- Indigenous Health8▲ 82×1 topic
- Collaborative Learning8▲ 17×2 topics
- Metacognition8▲ 7.7×4 topics
- Cultural Competence8▲ 8.7×5 topics
Which research topics does Athabasca University publish most on?
By volume in 2022-now: Online Learning and Analytics, Online and Blended Learning, Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights and Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods.
Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.
- 1 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 15 works
- 2 Online and Blended Learning Education 10 works
- 3 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 8 works
- 4 Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods Developmental and Educational Psychology 7 works
- 5 Canadian Identity and History Sociology and Political Science 7 works
- 6 Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning Artificial Intelligence 7 works
- 7 E-Learning and Knowledge Management Computer Science Applications 4 works
- 8 Higher Education Practises and Engagement Education 4 works
- 9 Labor Movements and Unions Public Administration 4 works
- 10 Cultural Competency in Health Care Sociology and Political Science 4 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.
World: 40% of research is openly available.
World: 18% is written across borders.
How has Athabasca University's research output changed?
Output in 2022-2025 was 9% higher than in 2018-2021.
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 Athabasca University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0022% in 2024.
Fractional works of Athabasca University over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.
How much of it reaches the world top 10%
Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.
Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 14.2% in 2008.
Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.
Discussion
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