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Nonprofit · Dallas · United States

SIL International

In research, SIL International stands highest in Social Sciences (#7,286 of 9,585 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Arts and Humanities (Arts and Humanities is 7.2× its share of world research).

sil.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#14,701
of 22,385 · #9,385 all time
Rank in United States
#2,083
of 3,332
Research works
1.2k
▼ 5% vs 2018-21
Citations
12k
9.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
8.0%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.94×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
40%
world 40%
International
13%
world 18%
SIL International

What is SIL International 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 #7,286 of 9,585 8.0%75 #3795

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where SIL International 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 SIL International work in?

In 2022-now, 59% of research at SIL International is in Social Sciences, 26% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (29%), Arts and Humanities (21%), Computer Science (13%). It does 2.3× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 83 fractional works · 58.9% of its workSocial Sciences: 41 fractional works · 28.9% of its workSociology and Political Science: 11 fractional works · 7.5% of its workEducation: 8 fractional works · 5.5% of its workLinguistics and Language: 6 fractional works · 4.6% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 4 fractional works · 2.7% of its workAnthropology: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workCommunication: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCultural Studies: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workDevelopment: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGender Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDemography: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 29 fractional works · 20.6% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 18 fractional works · 12.5% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 4 fractional works · 2.9% of its workReligious studies: 4 fractional works · 2.7% of its workConservation: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPhilosophy: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHistory: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPsychology: 8 fractional works · 5.8% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 6 fractional works · 4.3% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workClinical Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3 fractional works · 2.2% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workFinance: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement Information Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 37 fractional works · 26.0% of its workComputer Science: 19 fractional works · 13.5% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 7 fractional works · 4.6% of its workInformation Systems: 6 fractional works · 4.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workSignal Processing: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHuman-Computer Interaction: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHardware and Architecture: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 6 fractional works · 4.3% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMechanics of Materials: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBuilding and Construction: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Science: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEcological Modeling: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPollution: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRadiation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Energy: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Sciences: 13 fractional works · 9.0% of its workMedicine: 11 fractional works · 8.0% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workNeurology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEpidemiology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEmergency Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHealth Informatics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 9 fractional works · 6.1% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 4 fractional works · 2.6% of its workMolecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMolecular Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 3 fractional works · 1.9% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKSIL International141fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences6%Physical Sciences26%Health Sciences9%Social Sciences59%

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 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences4128.9%
    2. Arts and Humanities2920.6%
    3. Psychology85.8%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance32.2%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting21.3%
    6. Decision Sciences00.1%
    1. Computer Science1913.5%
    2. Engineering64.3%
    3. Environmental Science32.5%
    4. Physics and Astronomy21.7%
    5. Materials Science21.6%
    6. Chemistry21.1%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences10.5%
    8. Energy10.5%
    9. Mathematics00.3%
    1. Medicine118.0%
    2. Health Professions10.8%
    3. Dentistry00.2%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology42.6%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences31.9%
    3. Neuroscience21.4%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.1%
    5. Immunology and Microbiology00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does SIL International specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Arts and Humanities takes 7.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Arts and HumanitiesField · 29.1 works7.2×
← 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: 0.40× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.48× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.87× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.36× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.71× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.73× its world share, 19 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.34× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.51× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.29× its world share, 6 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.50× its world share, 4 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.46× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.24× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.78× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.49× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.42× its world share, 11 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 7.15× its world share, 29 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.40× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.03× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.91× its world share, 8 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.28× its world share, 41 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 7.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Arts and Humanities7.15×29 works
  2. Social Sciences2.28×41 works
  3. Psychology1.91×8 works
  4. Computer Science1.73×19 works
  5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.03×3 works
  6. Neuroscience0.87×2 works
  7. Physics and Astronomy0.78×2 works
  8. Chemistry0.71×2 works
  9. Energy0.51×1 works
  10. Environmental Science0.50×4 works
  11. Dentistry0.49×0 works
  12. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.48×4 works
  13. Materials Science0.46×2 works
  14. Medicine0.42×11 works
  15. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.40×3 works
  16. Business, Management and Accounting0.40×2 works
  17. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.36×0 works
  18. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.34×1 works
  19. Health Professions0.30×1 works
  20. Engineering0.29×6 works
  21. Mathematics0.24×0 works
  22. Immunology and Microbiology0.08×0 works
  23. Decision Sciences0.08×0 works

Who are the top researchers at SIL International?

Ranked on the quality score, Thomas N. Headland, Barbara Trudell and Robert E. Longacre lead among researchers whose main affiliation is SIL International.

  1. 1 Thomas N. Headland United States · #219,319 worldwide 3.9k citations · 65 works
  2. 2 Barbara Trudell United States · #538,494 worldwide 883 citations · 32 works
  3. 3 Robert E. Longacre United States · #642,625 worldwide 2.2k citations · 120 works
  4. 4 Kenneth L. Pike United States · #959,989 worldwide 5.7k citations · 146 works
  5. 5 Sarah C. Gudschinsky United States · #969,784 worldwide 401 citations · 21 works
  6. 6 Gary Simons United States · #1,286,488 worldwide 3.3k citations · 112 works
  7. 7 Marc Rettig United States · #1,646,104 worldwide 934 citations · 26 works
  8. 8 Eunice Victoria Pike United States · #1,816,086 worldwide 475 citations · 31 works
  9. 9 Johannes Merz United States · #1,818,151 worldwide 199 citations · 24 works
  10. 10 George L. Huttar United States · #1,855,897 worldwide 542 citations · 37 works
All ranked researchers at SIL International

What are the most cited papers from SIL International?

The most cited paper from SIL International is "A Cross-Linguistic Survey of the Grammaticization of Evidentiality" (Thomas L. Willett, 1988), with 1,044 citations. Next come "Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure" (877) and "Optimal life cycle asset allocation : understanding the empirical evidence" (800).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 A Cross-Linguistic Survey of the Grammaticization of Evidentiality Thomas L. Willett · Studies in Language 1988 1,044
2 Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure Kim R. Hill, Robert S. Walker, Miran Božičević et al. · Science 10 Mar 2011 877
3 Optimal life cycle asset allocation : understanding the empirical evidence Alexander Michaelides, Francisco Gomes · London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) Open access Apr 2005 800
4 How Large Are Human-Capital Externalities? Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Laws Daron Acemoğlu, Joshua D. Angrist · NBER Macroeconomics Annual Open access 2000 757
5 Competing for Securities Underwriting Mandates: Banking Relationships and Analyst Recommendations Alexander P. Ljungqvist, Felicia C. Marston, William J. Wilhelm · The Journal of Finance Open access 20 Jan 2006 404
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at SIL International?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Pragmatics, Language Teaching, Speech Perception, Language Evolution, Language Contact, Sociolinguistics, Morphology and Syntax.

▲ 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. Pragmatics10▲ 46×6 topics
  2. Language Teaching7▲ 19×6 topics
  3. Globalization6▲ 2.4×20 topics
  4. Speech Perception6▲ 54×3 topics
  5. Education6▲ 2.5×15 topics
  6. Language Evolution6▲ 106×2 topics
  7. Language Contact6▲ 44×6 topics
  8. Sociolinguistics6▲ 22×7 topics
  9. Morphology5▲ 21×3 topics
  10. Syntax5▲ 51×2 topics
  11. Perception5▲ 48×2 topics
  12. Grammar5▲ 135×1 topic
  13. Semantics5▲ 124×1 topic
  14. Ethnicity4▲ 8.2×5 topics
  15. Linguistic Diversity4▲ 126×2 topics
  16. Prosody4▲ 74×2 topics
  17. Semitic Languages4▲ 70×1 topic
  18. Verb Morphology4▲ 226×1 topic
  19. Language Policy4▲ 20×4 topics
  20. Multilingualism4▲ 17×4 topics
  21. Religion4▲ 6.0×9 topics
  22. Social Interaction4▲ 6.5×4 topics
  23. Bilingual Education4▲ 22×3 topics
  24. Corpus Linguistics4▲ 12×5 topics
  25. Language Change3▲ 109×1 topic
  26. Local Wisdom3▲ 5.2×4 topics
  27. Second Language Learning3▲ 26×2 topics
  28. Sociolinguistic Variation3▲ 109×1 topic
  29. Christian-Muslim Relations3▲ 89×1 topic
  30. Gospel Translation3▲ 110×1 topic
  31. Language3▲ 9.6×6 topics
  32. Media Literacy3▲ 4.5×4 topics
  33. Language Acquisition3▲ 20×2 topics
  34. Perceptual Learning3▲ 42×1 topic
  35. Phonetics3▲ 81×1 topic
  36. Cultural History3▲ 17×4 topics
  37. Conversation Analysis3▲ 66×1 topic
  38. Interactional Linguistics3▲ 66×1 topic
  39. Cognition2▲ 12×2 topics
  40. Cultural Sustaining Pedagogy2▲ 39×1 topic

Which research topics does SIL International publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation, Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis, Linguistic Variation and Morphology and Historical and Linguistic Studies.

Syntax, Semantics, Lingu…5Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation: 5 fractional worksLanguage, Linguistics, C…4Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis: 4 fractional worksLinguistic Variation and…3Linguistic Variation and Morphology: 3 fractional worksHistorical and Linguisti…3Historical and Linguistic Studies: 3 fractional worksPhonetics and Phonology Research: 3 fractional worksLanguage, Discourse, Communication Strategies: 3 fractional worksMultilingual Education a…2Multilingual Education and Policy: 2 fractional worksEducational Methods and Media Use: 2 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 2 fractional worksNatural Language Processing Techniques: 2 fractional works
Language and LinguisticsLinguistics and LanguageSociology and Political ScienceExperimental and Cognitive Psychology3 others

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

  1. 1 Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation Language and Linguistics 5 works
  2. 2 Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis Language and Linguistics 4 works
  3. 3 Linguistic Variation and Morphology Linguistics and Language 3 works
  4. 4 Historical and Linguistic Studies Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  5. 5 Phonetics and Phonology Research Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 3 works
  6. 6 Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies Language and Linguistics 3 works
  7. 7 Multilingual Education and Policy Linguistics and Language 2 works
  8. 8 Educational Methods and Media Use Information Systems 2 works
  9. 9 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 2 works
  10. 10 Natural Language Processing Techniques Artificial Intelligence 2 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 available39.6%not open60.4%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.6%domestic only87.4%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has SIL International's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 5% 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 SIL International as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00062% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%SIL International0.00083% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of SIL International 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 counting10%20%30%all institutions10.0% in 2025SIL International8.4% in 202520102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 24.7% in 2007.

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SIL International on Science Explorer

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