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University · Dunedin · New Zealand

University of Otago

In research, University of Otago stands highest in Health Sciences (#432 of 11,982 worldwide), Social Sciences (#430 of 10,521 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#440 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Orthodontics, Periodontics and Dentistry — Orthodontics is 6.9× its share of world research.

otago.ac.nzROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#711
of 28,054 · #469 all time
Rank in New Zealand
#2
of 71
Research works
46k
◆ 2% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.4M
30.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is University of Otago 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
Health SciencesDomain #432 of 11,982 19.3%1,975 #200
Social SciencesDomain #430 of 10,521 25.7%1,840 #245
Life SciencesDomain #440 of 7,800 22.8%906 #355
Social SciencesField #387 of 6,365 26.1%910 #251
MedicineField #645 of 10,443 18.5%1,433 #265
Physical SciencesDomain #1,273 of 12,888 19.6%1,141 #818
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #264 of 2,578 25.8%324 #198
Health ProfessionsField #198 of 1,928 19.8%348 #91
DentistryField #47 of 367 24.6%134 #53
Environmental ScienceField #506 of 3,551 19.3%380 #302

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Otago 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. Health Sciences#200 #432
  2. Social Sciences#245 #430
  3. Life Sciences#355 #440
  4. Social Sciences#251 #387
  5. Medicine#265 #645
  6. Physical Sciences#818 #1,273
  7. Sociology and Political Science#198 #264
  8. Health Professions#91 #198
  9. Dentistry#53 #47
  10. Environmental Science#302 #506
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 University of Otago specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Orthodontics takes 6.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. OrthodonticsSubfield · 45.4 works6.9×
  2. PeriodonticsSubfield · 38.6 works4.8×
  3. DentistryField · 134.1 works4.7×
  4. HealthSubfield · 71.2 works4.1×
  5. Geography, Planning and DevelopmentSubfield · 48.1 works4.0×
← 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: 0.75× its world share, 209 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.39× its world share, 436 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.41× its world share, 83 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.65× its world share, 157 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.02× its world share, 21 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.19× its world share, 4 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.52× its world share, 48 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.40× its world share, 181 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.72× its world share, 158 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.30× its world share, 16 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.20× its world share, 177 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.31× its world share, 380 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.26× its world share, 54 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.59× its world share, 41 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.62× its world share, 81 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 4.72× its world share, 134 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 2.25× its world share, 348 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.27× its world share, 1,433 worksMedicineNursing: 1.82× its world share, 52 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.98× its world share, 8 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.07× its world share, 181 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.91× its world share, 172 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.78× its world share, 44 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.22× its world share, 153 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.13× its world share, 380 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.23× its world share, 910 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Dentistry, 4.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Otago?

Ranked on the composite score, John L. Harper, David Bryant and Richie Poulton lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Otago.

  1. 1 John L. Harper New Zealand · #1,396 worldwide 2.9k citations · 84 works
  2. 2 David Bryant New Zealand · #5,543 worldwide 1.9k citations · 59 works
  3. 3 Richie Poulton New Zealand · #5,596 worldwide 1.7k citations · 59 works
  4. 4 John A. Crump New Zealand · #7,332 worldwide 3.6k citations · 52 works
  5. 5 Bryan F. J. Manly New Zealand · #8,003 worldwide 1k citations · 59 works
  6. 6 Colin R. Townsend New Zealand · #13,296 worldwide 1.1k citations · 65 works
  7. 7 Peter Herbison New Zealand · #20,346 worldwide 559 citations · 74 works
  8. 8 Richard B. Gearry New Zealand · #35,576 worldwide 621 citations · 93 works
  9. 9 James R. Flynn New Zealand · #40,934 worldwide 355 citations · 52 works
  10. 10 Elaine Reese New Zealand · #42,222 worldwide 547 citations · 34 works
All ranked researchers at University of Otago

Which keywords describe research at University of Otago?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Climate Change, Public Health, Inflammation, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Primary Care and Cardiovascular Disease.

▲ 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. Epidemiology420▲ 1.81×127 topics
  2. Climate Change274▲ 1.74×89 topics
  3. Public Health202▲ 2.4×54 topics
  4. Inflammation190▲ 1.56×79 topics
  5. Mental Health157▲ 1.83×41 topics
  6. Quality of Life155▲ 1.83×55 topics
  7. Sustainability148◆ 1.03×70 topics
  8. Globalization135▲ 1.17×79 topics
  9. Cardiovascular Disease131▲ 2.0×35 topics
  10. Environmental Impact112◆ 1.12×42 topics
  11. Depression110▲ 2.1×24 topics
  12. Risk Factors109▲ 1.70×35 topics
  13. Biodiversity106▲ 2.4×26 topics
  14. Treatment96▲ 1.35×48 topics
  15. Metabolic Syndrome95▲ 1.98×23 topics
  16. Primary Care91▲ 4.1×15 topics
  17. Resilience83▲ 2.9×15 topics
  18. Invasive Species83▲ 3.3×18 topics
  19. Obesity82▲ 1.85×23 topics
  20. Global Burden78▲ 2.5×12 topics
  21. Genetics77▲ 1.87×24 topics
  22. Clinical Trials74▲ 1.89×19 topics
  23. Vulnerability74▲ 5.6×8 topics
  24. Physical Activity73▲ 2.5×11 topics
  25. Health Equity72▲ 4.5×6 topics
  26. Prevalence71▲ 3.0×14 topics
  27. Population Dynamics68▲ 4.6×12 topics
  28. Ethical Considerations66▲ 3.3×16 topics
  29. Anxiety65▲ 2.3×12 topics
  30. Decolonization62▲ 13×7 topics
  31. Neoliberalism58▲ 2.8×18 topics
  32. Neurobiology56▲ 3.7×10 topics
  33. Quality Improvement47▲ 4.1×8 topics
  34. Reflective Practice46▲ 4.3×7 topics
  35. Psychiatric Disorders44▲ 5.7×4 topics
  36. Indigenous Knowledge Systems36▲ 20×3 topics
  37. Traditional Ecological Knowledge35▲ 14×2 topics
  38. Settler Colonialism35▲ 14×2 topics
  39. Historical Trauma35▲ 43×1 topic
  40. Indigenous Health35▲ 43×1 topic

Which research topics does University of Otago publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights, Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies, Innovations in Medical Education and Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet.

Indigenous Health, Educa…35Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights: 35 fractional worksPacific and Southeast As…25Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies: 25 fractional worksInnovations in Medical Education: 25 fractional worksObesity, Physical Activi…24Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet: 24 fractional worksDental materials and res…24Dental materials and restorations: 24 fractional worksIsland Studies and Pacific Affairs: 22 fractional worksGlobal Health Workforce Issues: 21 fractional worksDental Health and Care U…19Dental Health and Care Utilization: 19 fractional worksHomelessness and Social Issues: 19 fractional worksParasite Biology and Host Interactions: 18 fractional works
HealthGeography, Planning and DevelopmentPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthOrthodontics5 others

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

  1. 1 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 35 works
  2. 2 Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies Geography, Planning and Development 25 works
  3. 3 Innovations in Medical Education Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 25 works
  4. 4 Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 24 works
  5. 5 Dental materials and restorations Orthodontics 24 works
  6. 6 Island Studies and Pacific Affairs Demography 22 works
  7. 7 Global Health Workforce Issues Emergency Medical Services 21 works
  8. 8 Dental Health and Care Utilization Periodontics 19 works
  9. 9 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 19 works
  10. 10 Parasite Biology and Host Interactions Ecology 18 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 available35.4%not open64.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors23.6%domestic only76.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Otago's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 2% 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 Dunedin

All research institutions in Dunedin

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.