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University · Milton Keynes · United Kingdom

The Open University

In research, The Open University stands highest in Social Sciences (#351 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#352 of 6,365 worldwide) and Literature and Literary Theory (#35 of 390 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Public Administration, Computer Science Applications and History — Public Administration is 18.1× its share of world research.

open.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,584
of 28,054 · #605 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#64
of 1,094
Research works
25k
◆ 0% vs 2013–17
Citations
649k
25.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is The Open 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 #351 of 10,521 25.4%1,808 #143
Social SciencesField #352 of 6,365 28.3%1,011 #86
Literature and Literary TheorySubfield #35 of 390 33.8%69 #11
PsychologyField #212 of 2,181 19.3%246 #176
Arts and HumanitiesField #213 of 1,998 22.4%311 #86
Physical SciencesDomain #1,673 of 12,888 18.4%784 #789
EducationSubfield #249 of 1,892 36.1%209 #41
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #410 of 2,578 26.0%322 #116
Computer ScienceField #979 of 4,667 25.5%248 #349
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #299 of 1,201 30.8%131 #154

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where The Open 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#143 #351
  2. Social Sciences#86 #352
  3. Literature and Literary Theory#11 #35
  4. Psychology#176 #212
  5. Arts and Humanities#86 #213
  6. Physical Sciences#789 #1,673
  7. Education#41 #249
  8. Sociology and Political Science#116 #410
  9. Computer Science#349 #979
  10. Political Science and International Relations#154 #299
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 The Open University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Public Administration takes 18.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Public AdministrationSubfield · 29.2 works18×
  2. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 57.5 works7.8×
  3. HistorySubfield · 71.8 works7.5×
  4. Gender StudiesSubfield · 65.8 works6.1×
  5. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 94.4 works6.0×
← 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: 0.38× its world share, 55 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.27× its world share, 42 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.13× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.97× its world share, 47 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.09× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.23× its world share, 11 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.06× its world share, 248 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.20× its world share, 57 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.33× its world share, 9 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.38× its world share, 171 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.55× its world share, 82 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.23× its world share, 24 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.27× its world share, 45 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.03× its world share, 136 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 1.30× its world share, 103 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.26× its world share, 148 worksMedicineNursing: 0.42× its world share, 6 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.56× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.59× its world share, 311 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.09× its world share, 106 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.31× its world share, 38 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.49× its world share, 96 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.69× its world share, 246 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.66× its world share, 1,011 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 3.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at The Open University?

Ranked on the composite score, Ruth Finnegan, Mike Sharples and Gillian Rose lead among researchers whose main affiliation is The Open University.

  1. 1 Ruth Finnegan United Kingdom · #6,240 worldwide 482 citations · 68 works
  2. 2 Mike Sharples United Kingdom · #6,505 worldwide 905 citations · 96 works
  3. 3 Gillian Rose United Kingdom · #13,712 worldwide 856 citations · 44 works
  4. 4 Nigel Cross United Kingdom · #14,895 worldwide 716 citations · 44 works
  5. 5 Doreen Massey United Kingdom · #17,805 worldwide 780 citations · 41 works
  6. 6 Theresa Lillis United Kingdom · #20,340 worldwide 338 citations · 48 works
  7. 7 Marian Petre United Kingdom · #22,374 worldwide 448 citations · 66 works
  8. 8 Jonathan Silvertown United Kingdom · #25,544 worldwide 1k citations · 39 works
  9. 9 Chris J. Hawkesworth United Kingdom · #27,449 worldwide 841 citations · 69 works
  10. 10 Bashar Nuseibeh United Kingdom · #31,936 worldwide 766 citations · 106 works
All ranked researchers at The Open University

Which keywords describe research at The Open University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Higher Education, Neoliberalism, Gender, Nationalism, Identity, History and Mental 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. Globalization193▲ 3.3×95 topics
  2. Mental Health98▲ 2.2×38 topics
  3. Machine Learning94◆ 0.96×64 topics
  4. Higher Education86▲ 5.3×17 topics
  5. Identity82▲ 3.8×45 topics
  6. Gender81▲ 5.0×39 topics
  7. History77▲ 3.6×33 topics
  8. Education76▲ 1.47×68 topics
  9. Online Learning74▲ 2.9×15 topics
  10. Neoliberalism73▲ 6.8×23 topics
  11. Nationalism73▲ 5.2×24 topics
  12. Social Media72▲ 1.69×30 topics
  13. Innovation65▲ 2.0×42 topics
  14. Colonialism63▲ 4.4×32 topics
  15. Literature61▲ 3.7×32 topics
  16. Human Rights60▲ 1.95×45 topics
  17. Ethics53▲ 3.7×36 topics
  18. Student Engagement52▲ 4.3×13 topics
  19. Religion50▲ 3.5×28 topics
  20. Feminism46▲ 5.4×19 topics
  21. Social Interaction46▲ 3.8×11 topics
  22. Student Perceptions44▲ 8.0×7 topics
  23. Reflective Practice42▲ 7.4×7 topics
  24. Ethnicity41▲ 3.6×19 topics
  25. Professional Development41▲ 6.8×12 topics
  26. Informal Learning39▲ 10×5 topics
  27. Politics38▲ 4.6×12 topics
  28. Learning Analytics36▲ 9.8×2 topics
  29. National Identity36▲ 10×6 topics
  30. Instructional Design35▲ 15×3 topics
  31. Student Satisfaction33▲ 5.8×3 topics
  32. Intersectionality32▲ 5.9×11 topics
  33. Language Policy32▲ 7.5×5 topics
  34. Bilingual Education31▲ 8.8×3 topics
  35. Solar System Abundances30▲ 21×1 topic
  36. Terrestrial Planets30▲ 21×1 topic
  37. Educational Data Mining30▲ 11×1 topic
  38. Massive Open Online Courses30▲ 11×1 topic
  39. Cognitive Engagement29▲ 13×2 topics
  40. Virtual Learning Environments29▲ 9.9×3 topics

Which research topics does The Open University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Astro and Planetary Science, Online Learning and Analytics, Online and Blended Learning and Planetary Science and Exploration.

Astro and Planetary Scie…30Astro and Planetary Science: 30 fractional worksOnline Learning and Anal…30Online Learning and Analytics: 30 fractional worksOnline and Blended Learn…28Online and Blended Learning: 28 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Ex…23Planetary Science and Exploration: 23 fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 19 fractional worksScottish History and National Identity: 18 fractional worksSocial Work Education an…17Social Work Education and Practice: 17 fractional worksHigher Education Practises and Engagement: 17 fractional worksHigher Education Learning Practices: 15 fractional worksHistorical Economic and …15Historical Economic and Social Studies: 15 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsComputer Science ApplicationsEducationLiterature and Literary Theory3 others

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

  1. 1 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 30 works
  2. 2 Online Learning and Analytics Computer Science Applications 30 works
  3. 3 Online and Blended Learning Education 28 works
  4. 4 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 23 works
  5. 5 Second Language Learning and Teaching Literature and Literary Theory 19 works
  6. 6 Scottish History and National Identity History 18 works
  7. 7 Social Work Education and Practice Public Administration 17 works
  8. 8 Higher Education Practises and Engagement Education 17 works
  9. 9 Higher Education Learning Practices Education 15 works
  10. 10 Historical Economic and Social Studies Economics and Econometrics 15 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 available28.0%not open72.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors20.4%domestic only79.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has The Open University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 0% 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 Milton Keynes

All research institutions in Milton Keynes

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.