Question 1

What is The Open University known for?

Accepted Answer

In research, The Open University stands highest in Social Sciences (#677 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#560 of 5,988 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#1,740 of 10,670 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Public Administration, Computer Science Applications and History (Public Administration is 17.3× its share of world research).

Question 2

How does The Open University rank in research?

Accepted Answer

The Open University ranks #1,323 of 22,385 institutions worldwide on research quality in 2022-now (#1,396 all time), and #88 of 862 in the United Kingdom.

Question 3

Who are the top researchers at The Open University?

Accepted Answer

Ranked on the quality score, Chris J. Hawkesworth, Bart Rienties and Mike Widdowson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is The Open University.

Question 4

What are the most cited papers from The Open University?

Accepted Answer

The most cited paper from The Open University is "Trace Element Discrimination Diagrams for the Tectonic Interpretation of Granitic Rocks" (Julian A. Pearce, Nigel Harris, A. G. Tindle, 1984), with 8,648 citations. Next come "The Gaia mission" (7,118) and "The Genome Sequence of Drosophila melanogaster" (6,049).

Question 5

Which research topics does The Open University publish most on?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

Which keywords describe research at The Open University?

Accepted Answer

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Higher Education, Gender, Neoliberalism, Identity, Nationalism, History and Mental Health.

Question 7

Which fields of science does The Open University work in?

Accepted Answer

In 2022-now, 60% of research at The Open University is in Social Sciences, 26% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (33%), Arts and Humanities (11%), Computer Science (8%). It does 2.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Question 8

Is The Open University's research output growing?

Accepted Answer

Output in 2022-2025 was 8% lower than in 2018-2021.