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Government institution · Edinburgh · United Kingdom

National Museums Scotland

In research, National Museums Scotland stands highest in Social Sciences (#4,544 of 16,945 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#10,581 of 21,541 worldwide) and Arts and Humanities (#2,344 of 3,836 worldwide), over all time.

nms.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#13,919
of 28,054 · #13,260 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#504
of 1,094
Research works
722
▲ 42% vs 2013–17
Citations
9.3k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
24.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
38%
world 28%

What is National Museums Scotland 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
Social SciencesDomain #4,544 of 16,945 26.0%288
Physical SciencesDomain #10,581 of 21,541 28.5%262
Arts and HumanitiesField #2,344 of 3,836 31.1%191
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #2,174 of 2,661 30.3%155
Life SciencesDomain #12,712 of 14,347 26.5%158

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Museums Scotland 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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

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: 3.90× its world share, 23 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.41× its world share, 9 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.84× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.21× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 12.17× its world share, 24 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.37× its world share, 15 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.70× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.18× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMedicineVeterinary: 2.44× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 7.71× its world share, 28 worksArts and HumanitiesDecision Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.27× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.76× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.92× its world share, 15 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 12.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Museums Scotland?

Ranked on the composite score, Mark Shaw, Alison Sheridan and Nicholas C. Fraser lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Museums Scotland.

  1. 1 Mark Shaw United Kingdom · #64,474 worldwide 226 citations · 71 works
  2. 2 Alison Sheridan United Kingdom · #144,355 worldwide 152 citations · 31 works
  3. 3 Nicholas C. Fraser United Kingdom · #426,629 worldwide 84 citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Michael A. Taylor United Kingdom · #448,187 worldwide 56 citations · 31 works
  5. 5 Andrew J. Ross United Kingdom · #450,903 worldwide 58 citations · 23 works
  6. 6 Fraser Hunter United Kingdom · #492,385 worldwide 11 citations · 39 works
  7. 7 Alexander Fenton United Kingdom · #655,770 worldwide 9 citations · 16 works
  8. 8 Andrew C. Kitchener United Kingdom · #905,682 worldwide 82 citations · 47 works
  9. 9 Graham E. Rotheray United Kingdom · #931,498 worldwide 22 citations · 20 works
  10. 10 Jeremy S. Herman United Kingdom · #1,131,120 worldwide 31 citations · 15 works
All ranked researchers at National Museums Scotland

Which keywords describe research at National Museums Scotland?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Population Dynamics, Invasive Species, Phylogeny, Morphology, Biogeography, Evolution, Molecular Phylogeny and Biodiversity.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 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. Population Dynamics13▲ 42×9 topics
  2. Invasive Species13▲ 25×12 topics
  3. Phylogeny13▲ 69×9 topics
  4. Morphology11▲ 52×5 topics
  5. Biogeography11▲ 33×12 topics
  6. Evolution11▲ 34×7 topics
  7. Climate Change10▲ 3.0×22 topics
  8. Molecular Phylogeny10▲ 50×8 topics
  9. Biodiversity8▲ 8.1×11 topics
  10. Biological Control8▲ 40×4 topics
  11. Cretaceous7▲ 272×2 topics
  12. Phylogenetic Analysis7▲ 19×10 topics
  13. DNA Barcoding7▲ 34×8 topics
  14. Conservation7▲ 13×11 topics
  15. Taxonomy6▲ 40×6 topics
  16. Adaptive Radiation6▲ 150×2 topics
  17. Cultural Heritage6▲ 8.1×7 topics
  18. Mammal Evolution5▲ 215×1 topic
  19. Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis5▲ 215×1 topic
  20. Archaeology5▲ 31×6 topics
  21. Microbiota5▲ 19×4 topics
  22. History5▲ 5.4×8 topics
  23. Urban Development5▲ 10×4 topics
  24. Cultural Sustainability4▲ 64×2 topics
  25. Ecology4▲ 23×4 topics
  26. Habitat Fragmentation4▲ 16×5 topics
  27. Dinosaur4▲ 285×1 topic
  28. Paleontology4▲ 285×1 topic
  29. Systematics4▲ 183×2 topics
  30. Cultural Identity4▲ 6.0×2 topics
  31. Agricultural Origins4▲ 92×1 topic
  32. Radiocarbon Dating4▲ 92×1 topic
  33. Colonialism4▲ 6.2×8 topics
  34. Global Change4▲ 11×3 topics
  35. Migration4▲ 8.3×2 topics
  36. Fisheries3▲ 70×2 topics
  37. Diptera3▲ 568×1 topic
  38. Marine Ecosystems3▲ 50×2 topics
  39. molecular data3▲ 568×1 topic
  40. Rays3▲ 129×1 topic

Which research topics does National Museums Scotland publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Evolution and Paleontology Studies, Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Archaeology and ancient environmental studies and Diptera species taxonomy and behavior.

Evolution and Paleontolo…5Evolution and Paleontology Studies: 5 fractional worksPaleontology and Evoluti…4Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology: 4 fractional worksArchaeology and ancient environmental studies: 4 fractional worksDiptera species taxonomy and behavior: 3 fractional worksIchthyology and Marine Biology: 3 fractional worksHymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny: 3 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 3 fractional worksFossil Insects in Amber3Fossil Insects in Amber: 3 fractional worksArchaeological Research and Protection: 3 fractional worksInsect behavior and control techniques: 3 fractional works
PaleontologyEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsNature and Landscape ConservationSpace and Planetary Science1 others

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

  1. 1 Evolution and Paleontology Studies Paleontology 5 works
  2. 2 Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology Paleontology 4 works
  3. 3 Archaeology and ancient environmental studies Paleontology 4 works
  4. 4 Diptera species taxonomy and behavior Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 3 works
  5. 5 Ichthyology and Marine Biology Nature and Landscape Conservation 3 works
  6. 6 Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 3 works
  7. 7 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 3 works
  8. 8 Fossil Insects in Amber Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 3 works
  9. 9 Archaeological Research and Protection Space and Planetary Science 3 works
  10. 10 Insect behavior and control techniques Insect Science 3 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 available38.5%not open61.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors25.1%domestic only74.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Museums Scotland's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 42% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in Edinburgh

All research institutions in Edinburgh

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.