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University · Athabasca · Canada

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.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll 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.

  1. Social Sciences#1,481 #3,009
  2. Social Sciences#1,221 #2,492
  3. Health Sciences#4,307 #5,056
  4. Computer Science#1,118 #2,260
  5. Physical Sciences#2,640 #6,463
  6. Psychology#1,265 #1,350
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

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.

Social Sciences: 333 fractional works · 49.8% of its workSocial Sciences: 183 fractional works · 27.4% of its workSociology and Political Science: 60 fractional works · 9.0% of its workEducation: 46 fractional works · 6.8% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 17 fractional works · 2.5% of its workHealth: 15 fractional works · 2.3% of its workGender Studies: 8 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSafety Research: 6 fractional works · 0.9% of its workCultural Studies: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPublic Administration: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAnthropology: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCommunication: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDemography: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workUrban Studies: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHuman Factors and Ergonomics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 68 fractional works · 10.2% of its workClinical Psychology: 26 fractional works · 3.8% of its workSocial Psychology: 15 fractional works · 2.2% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 12 fractional works · 1.8% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 12 fractional works · 1.7% of its workApplied Psychology: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 31 fractional works · 4.6% of its workMarketing: 8 fractional works · 1.2% of its workStrategy and Management: 7 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 7 fractional works · 1.0% of its workManagement Information Systems: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAccounting: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 28 fractional works · 4.1% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 7 fractional works · 1.0% of its workMusic: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workConservation: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhilosophy: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHistory: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMuseology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 17 fractional works · 2.6% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 9 fractional works · 1.3% of its workFinance: 7 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 6 fractional works · 0.9% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 191 fractional works · 28.5% of its workComputer Science: 91 fractional works · 13.6% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 30 fractional works · 4.6% of its workComputer Science Applications: 23 fractional works · 3.5% of its workInformation Systems: 19 fractional works · 2.8% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 6 fractional works · 1.0% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSignal Processing: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 32 fractional works · 4.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 6 fractional works · 0.9% of its workBuilding and Construction: 6 fractional works · 0.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputational Mechanics: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMedia Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMechanical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOcean Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEnvironmental Science: 29 fractional works · 4.3% of its workEcology: 6 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 5 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 4 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPollution: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workWater Science and Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 14 fractional works · 2.1% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 11 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 13 fractional works · 1.9% of its workAtmospheric Science: 6 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGeophysics: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMathematics: 7 fractional works · 1.0% of its workApplied Mathematics: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMaterials Science: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 109 fractional works · 16.4% of its workMedicine: 63 fractional works · 9.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 22 fractional works · 3.3% of its workPhysiology: 7 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEpidemiology: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOncology: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHealth Informatics: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 11 fractional works · 1.6% of its workHealth Professions: 40 fractional works · 6.0% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 26 fractional works · 4.0% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacy: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOccupational Therapy: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Information Management: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNursing: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workResearch and Theory: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workIssues, ethics and legal aspects: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDentistry: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 35 fractional works · 5.3% of its workNeuroscience: 14 fractional works · 2.0% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 12 fractional works · 1.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 10 fractional works · 1.5% of its workPlant Science: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 9 fractional works · 1.4% of its workGenetics: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMolecular Biology: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKAthabascaUniversity668fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences5%Physical Sciences29%Health Sciences16%Social Sciences50%

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
    1. Social Sciences18327.4%
    2. Psychology6810.2%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting314.6%
    4. Arts and Humanities284.1%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance172.6%
    6. Decision Sciences60.9%
    1. Computer Science9113.6%
    2. Engineering324.7%
    3. Environmental Science294.3%
    4. Physics and Astronomy142.1%
    5. Earth and Planetary Sciences131.9%
    6. Mathematics71.0%
    7. Materials Science20.3%
    8. Chemistry20.3%
    9. Chemical Engineering10.1%
    10. Energy10.1%
    1. Medicine639.4%
    2. Health Professions406.0%
    3. Nursing50.7%
    4. Dentistry10.2%
    1. Neuroscience142.0%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences101.5%
    3. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology91.4%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.2%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics10.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

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.

  1. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 23.1 works14×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

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.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 10 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.26× its world share, 9 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.19× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.26× its world share, 14 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.36× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.75× its world share, 91 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.22× its world share, 13 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.32× its world share, 32 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.87× its world share, 29 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.85× its world share, 7 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.93× its world share, 14 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.41× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.29× its world share, 40 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.49× its world share, 63 worksMedicineNursing: 1.44× its world share, 5 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 1.44× its world share, 28 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.43× its world share, 31 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.91× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.21× its world share, 17 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 3.34× its world share, 68 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.17× its world share, 183 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 3.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Psychology3.34×68 works
  2. Health Professions2.29×40 works
  3. Social Sciences2.17×183 works
  4. Computer Science1.75×91 works
  5. Nursing1.44×5 works
  6. Arts and Humanities1.44×28 works
  7. Business, Management and Accounting1.43×31 works
  8. Neuroscience1.26×14 works
  9. Earth and Planetary Sciences1.22×13 works
  10. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.21×17 works
  11. Physics and Astronomy0.93×14 works
  12. Decision Sciences0.91×6 works
  13. Environmental Science0.87×29 works
  14. Mathematics0.85×7 works
  15. Medicine0.49×63 works
  16. Chemical Engineering0.42×1 works
  17. Dentistry0.41×1 works
  18. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.36×1 works
  19. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.32×10 works
  20. Engineering0.32×32 works
  21. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.26×9 works
  22. Immunology and Microbiology0.19×1 works
  23. Chemistry0.19×2 works
  24. Energy0.11×1 works
  25. Materials Science0.10×2 works

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. 1 Terry D. Anderson Canada · #128,382 worldwide 31k citations · 248 works
  2. 2 Kinshuk Kinshuk Canada · #224,941 worldwide 13k citations · 464 works
  3. 3 Junye Wang Canada · #331,034 worldwide 6.8k citations · 218 works
  4. 4 Sabine Graf Canada · #439,204 worldwide 5.6k citations · 164 works
  5. 5 Jennifer Knopp‐Sihota Canada · #496,492 worldwide 1.7k citations · 55 works
  6. 6 Janice Lynne Thomas Canada · #497,814 worldwide 3k citations · 42 works
  7. 7 M. Ali Akber Dewan Canada · #535,063 worldwide 2.8k citations · 131 works
  8. 8 Kathleen Leslie Canada · #557,478 worldwide 899 citations · 74 works
  9. 9 Dianne Conrad Canada · #641,074 worldwide 1.7k citations · 94 works
  10. 10 Faria Sana Canada · #691,424 worldwide 1.4k citations · 65 works
All ranked researchers at Athabasca University

What are the most cited papers from Athabasca University?

The most cited paper from Athabasca University is "A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study" (Wynne W. Chin, Barbara L. Marcolin, Peter R. Newsted, 2003), with 6,496 citations. Next come "Design-Based Research" (2,132) and "ASSESSING TEACHING PRESENCE IN A COMPUTER CONFERENCING CONTEXT" (1,880).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study Wynne W. Chin, Barbara L. Marcolin, Peter R. Newsted · Information Systems Research Jun 2003 6,496
2 Design-Based Research Terry D. Anderson, Julie Shattuck · Educational Researcher 2012 2,132
3 ASSESSING TEACHING PRESENCE IN A COMPUTER CONFERENCING CONTEXT Terry D. Anderson, Liam Rourke, D. Randy Garrison et al. · Online Learning Open access Jun 2001 1,880
4 ClassyFire: automated chemical classification with a comprehensive, computable taxonomy Yannick Djoumbou-Feunang, Roman Eisner, Craig Knox et al. · Journal of Cheminformatics Open access 4 Nov 2016 1,655
5 Emerging applications of metabolomics in drug discovery and precision medicine David Scott Wishart · Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Review 11 Mar 2016 1,534
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

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.

▲ 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. Globalization36▲ 2.7×43 topics
  2. Machine Learning35▲ 1.56×44 topics
  3. Online Learning30▲ 5.3×7 topics
  4. Mental Health28▲ 3.0×29 topics
  5. Public Health24▲ 2.5×30 topics
  6. Climate Change24▲ 1.30×47 topics
  7. Educational Technology23▲ 3.0×19 topics
  8. Social Justice22▲ 5.5×21 topics
  9. Identity21▲ 4.4×26 topics
  10. Student Engagement20▲ 7.4×6 topics
  11. E-Learning19▲ 3.0×10 topics
  12. Higher Education19▲ 5.3×15 topics
  13. Learning Analytics15▲ 19×2 topics
  14. MOOCs15▲ 25×2 topics
  15. Nationalism15▲ 5.1×12 topics
  16. Neoliberalism15▲ 6.2×16 topics
  17. Educational Data Mining15▲ 26×1 topic
  18. Massive Open Online Courses15▲ 26×1 topic
  19. Instructional Design14▲ 29×3 topics
  20. Motivation12▲ 4.5×7 topics
  21. Health Equity12▲ 6.1×6 topics
  22. Distance Education11▲ 8.7×3 topics
  23. Student Satisfaction11▲ 9.0×2 topics
  24. Feminism11▲ 5.5×10 topics
  25. Cognitive Engagement10▲ 23×2 topics
  26. Blended Learning10▲ 11×1 topic
  27. Community of Inquiry10▲ 28×1 topic
  28. Immigration10▲ 14×3 topics
  29. Lifelong Learning10▲ 7.2×8 topics
  30. Decolonization10▲ 18×6 topics
  31. Informal Learning9▲ 11×4 topics
  32. Traditional Ecological Knowledge9▲ 30×2 topics
  33. Indigenous Knowledge Systems9▲ 39×2 topics
  34. Self-Regulation9▲ 7.3×4 topics
  35. Settler Colonialism9▲ 31×2 topics
  36. Historical Trauma8▲ 82×1 topic
  37. Indigenous Health8▲ 82×1 topic
  38. Collaborative Learning8▲ 17×2 topics
  39. Metacognition8▲ 7.7×4 topics
  40. 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.

  1. 1 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 15 works
  2. 2 Online and Blended Learning Education 10 works
  3. 3 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 8 works
  4. 4 Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods Developmental and Educational Psychology 7 works
  5. 5 Canadian Identity and History Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  6. 6 Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning Artificial Intelligence 7 works
  7. 7 E-Learning and Knowledge Management Computer Science Applications 4 works
  8. 8 Higher Education Practises and Engagement Education 4 works
  9. 9 Labor Movements and Unions Public Administration 4 works
  10. 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.

openly available36.9%not open63.1%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors20.8%domestic only79.2%

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.

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 Athabasca University as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0022% in 2024.

still counting0.0025%0.0050%0.0075%Athabasca University0.0027% in 202519801990200020102020

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.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025Athabasca University8.9% in 2025200020102020

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.

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Athabasca University on Science Explorer

A card with Athabasca University's standing and the fields it leads in, for a post or a slide. A link to this page previews as the same card.

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