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University · Malibu · United States

Pepperdine University

In research, Pepperdine University stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,061 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,798 of 6,365 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#1,395 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management — Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management is 6.6× its share of world research.

pepperdine.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#9,375
of 28,054 · #6,542 all time
Rank in United States
#1,251
of 4,192
Research works
6k
◆ 1% vs 2013–17
Citations
66k
11.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
18.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
55%
world 28%

What is Pepperdine University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,061 of 10,521 19.0%587 #1051
Social SciencesField #1,798 of 6,365 18.3%286 #1070
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,395 of 2,578 21.8%92 #1121
PsychologyField #1,474 of 2,181 21.8%92 #667
Business, Management and AccountingField #1,840 of 2,578 18.3%95 #1125
Physical SciencesDomain #11,229 of 12,888 16.6%74 #10576

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

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#1,051 #2,061
  2. Social Sciences#1,070 #1,798
  3. Sociology and Political Science#1,121 #1,395
  4. Psychology#667 #1,474
  5. Business, Management and Accounting#1,125 #1,840
  6. Physical Sciences#10,576 #11,229
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Pepperdine University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management takes 6.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementSubfield · 23.7 works6.6×
← 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: 0.34× its world share, 12 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.28× its world share, 11 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.82× its world share, 6 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.35× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.20× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.44× its world share, 26 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.19× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.14× its world share, 16 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.47× its world share, 18 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.37× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.31× its world share, 5 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.81× its world share, 16 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.27× its world share, 39 worksMedicineNursing: 0.49× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.49× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.47× its world share, 54 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 3.93× its world share, 95 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.01× its world share, 15 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.83× its world share, 46 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 4.02× its world share, 92 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.00× its world share, 286 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Psychology, 4.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Pepperdine University?

Ranked on the composite score, Cristina B. Gibson, Edward J. Larson and Edward P. Shafranske lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Pepperdine University.

  1. 1 Cristina B. Gibson United States · #43,384 worldwide 945 citations · 31 works
  2. 2 Edward J. Larson United States · #86,364 worldwide 116 citations · 58 works
  3. 3 Edward P. Shafranske United States · #143,314 worldwide 86 citations · 25 works
  4. 4 Lee B. Kats United States · #195,084 worldwide 370 citations · 18 works
  5. 5 Paul M. Jones United States · #225,070 worldwide 189 citations · 27 works
  6. 6 J. Christopher Soper United States · #249,141 worldwide 44 citations · 22 works
  7. 7 Cindy Miller‐Perrin United States · #281,807 worldwide 89 citations · 24 works
  8. 8 Karen L. M. Martin United States · #292,444 worldwide 156 citations · 34 works
  9. 9 Maretno A. Harjoto United States · #334,759 worldwide 123 citations · 20 works
  10. 10 Robert G. Turner United States · #347,924 worldwide 96 citations · 29 works
All ranked researchers at Pepperdine University

Which keywords describe research at Pepperdine University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Leadership, Mental Health, Corporate Governance, Religion, Globalization, Social Capital, Human Rights and Health.

▲ 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. Mental Health45▲ 4.1×28 topics
  2. Globalization40▲ 2.7×43 topics
  3. Leadership35▲ 9.7×21 topics
  4. Corporate Governance33▲ 5.9×16 topics
  5. Human Rights27▲ 3.5×28 topics
  6. Religion27▲ 7.6×18 topics
  7. Education25▲ 1.93×31 topics
  8. Social Media23▲ 2.1×17 topics
  9. Social Capital22▲ 5.5×14 topics
  10. Innovation20▲ 2.5×21 topics
  11. Social Justice18▲ 4.1×23 topics
  12. Identity18▲ 3.3×18 topics
  13. Nationalism18▲ 5.2×9 topics
  14. Gender18▲ 4.4×23 topics
  15. Health18▲ 5.8×12 topics
  16. Economic Growth17▲ 2.7×17 topics
  17. Higher Education17▲ 4.1×13 topics
  18. Democracy16▲ 5.9×12 topics
  19. Well-being15▲ 5.3×12 topics
  20. Job Satisfaction15▲ 4.7×7 topics
  21. Meta-Analysis15▲ 3.3×12 topics
  22. Stress15▲ 5.2×7 topics
  23. Secularism14▲ 18×5 topics
  24. International Law14▲ 6.1×11 topics
  25. Social Support14▲ 3.4×11 topics
  26. Diversity14▲ 10×7 topics
  27. Organizational Performance14▲ 7.3×7 topics
  28. Human Resource Management14▲ 12×5 topics
  29. Politics13▲ 6.3×8 topics
  30. Neoliberalism13▲ 4.7×14 topics
  31. Inclusion12▲ 11×3 topics
  32. Psychological Capital12▲ 11×2 topics
  33. Feminism12▲ 5.4×13 topics
  34. Work Engagement11▲ 15×3 topics
  35. Career Development10▲ 12×5 topics
  36. Job Demands-Resources Model10▲ 22×1 topic
  37. Organizational Behavior10▲ 8.8×1 topic
  38. Psychological Adjustment10▲ 8.7×4 topics
  39. NGOs9▲ 12×4 topics
  40. Positive Emotions9▲ 10×2 topics

Which research topics does Pepperdine University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior, Corporate Finance and Governance, Resilience and Mental Health and Religion and Society Interactions.

Job Satisfaction and Org…10Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior: 10 fractional worksCorporate Finance and Go…7Corporate Finance and Governance: 7 fractional worksResilience and Mental Health: 7 fractional worksReligion and Society Int…7Religion and Society Interactions: 7 fractional worksGender Diversity and Ine…7Gender Diversity and Inequality: 7 fractional worksInnovative Teaching and Learning Methods: 6 fractional worksEmotional Intelligence and Performance: 6 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional …5American Constitutional Law and Politics: 5 fractional worksReligious Education and Schools: 5 fractional worksPrivate Equity and Venture Capital: 5 fractional works
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementAccountingClinical PsychologySociology and Political Science5 others

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

  1. 1 Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management 10 works
  2. 2 Corporate Finance and Governance Accounting 7 works
  3. 3 Resilience and Mental Health Clinical Psychology 7 works
  4. 4 Religion and Society Interactions Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  5. 5 Gender Diversity and Inequality Gender Studies 7 works
  6. 6 Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods Developmental and Educational Psychology 6 works
  7. 7 Emotional Intelligence and Performance Social Psychology 6 works
  8. 8 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  9. 9 Religious Education and Schools Education 5 works
  10. 10 Private Equity and Venture Capital Accounting 5 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 available55.4%not open44.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors4.9%domestic only95.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Pepperdine University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 1% lower 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 Malibu

All research institutions in Malibu

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.