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Subfield · Computer Science

Information Systems research

Information Systems is a subfield of Computer Science. Science Explorer counts 1.4M research works in it since 1950. 16.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: academic study of systems with a specific reference to information and the complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create and also distribute data.

Research works
1.4M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
220k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
78
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+73%
the tick is no change

What is Information Systems research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are E-Learning, Education, Digital Literacy, Internet of Things, Information Literacy, Media Literacy. Gaining share since 2009–13: Digital Certificate, Gamification, Reading Interest, School Literacy Movement, Blockchain. Losing share: Cloud Computing, Information Retrieval, Energy Efficiency, Machine Learning.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. E-Learning157k▲ 1.65×12 topics
  2. Education84k▲ 4.6×11 topics
  3. Digital Literacy75k▲ 5.7×5 topics
  4. Internet of Things69k▲ 2.7×9 topics
  5. Information Literacy59k▲ 11×2 topics
  6. Media Literacy59k▲ 11×2 topics
  7. Blockchain56k▲ 14×2 topics
  8. Reading Interest54k▲ 16×1 topic
  9. School Literacy Movement54k▲ 16×1 topic
  10. Security50k▲ 2.3×8 topics
  11. Educational Technology49k▲ 2.5×10 topics
  12. Machine Learning48k▼ 0.84×11 topics
  13. Cloud Computing48k▼ 0.38×12 topics
  14. Higher Education47k▲ 4.5×3 topics
  15. Healthcare47k▲ 7.6×5 topics
  16. Technology43k▲ 6.4×5 topics
  17. Pedagogy40k▲ 3.9×4 topics
  18. Data Mining38k◆ 0.94×5 topics
  19. Big Data37k◆ 0.92×8 topics
  20. Privacy36k▲ 2.7×4 topics
  21. Authentication34k▲ 3.1×3 topics
  22. Online Education33k▲ 3.4×3 topics
  23. Distance Learning33k▲ 4.7×4 topics
  24. Online Learning31k▲ 4.7×6 topics
  25. Smart Contracts29k▲ 13×1 topic
  26. Supply Chain Management29k▲ 13×1 topic
  27. Digital Transformation28k▲ 7.2×3 topics
  28. Digital Certificate27k▲ 16×1 topic
  29. Gamification27k▲ 16×1 topic
  30. Artificial Intelligence26k▲ 5.5×8 topics
  31. Knowledge Management24k▲ 2.4×8 topics
  32. ICT23k▲ 3.0×2 topics
  33. Neural Networks22k▲ 2.6×3 topics
  34. Learning21k▲ 14×1 topic
  35. Multimedia21k▲ 14×1 topic
  36. Information Retrieval19k▼ 0.79×4 topics
  37. COVID-1918k▲ 4.5×2 topics
  38. Energy Efficiency16k▼ 0.81×2 topics
  39. Teacher Training15k▲ 5.6×4 topics
  40. Digital Divide15k▲ 3.9×1 topic

Which countries lead Information Systems research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Information Systems. By volume, Indonesia and China publish the most (123k and 40k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 20.2% top 10% · 40k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 19.2% top 10% · 27k works
  3. 3 India · #4 all time 17.5% top 10% · 30k works
  4. 4 Indonesia · #6 all time 6.1% top 10% · 123k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #3 all time 26.8% top 10% · 6.3k works
  6. 6 Australia · #8 all time 34.6% top 10% · 3.2k works
  7. 7 Saudi Arabia · #16 all time 37.7% top 10% · 2.6k works
  8. 8 Germany · #5 all time 21.0% top 10% · 6.1k works
  9. 9 Spain · #10 all time 24.0% top 10% · 5.5k works
  10. 10 Canada · #7 all time 25.0% top 10% · 3.6k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 93 countries ranked in Information Systems. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Information Systems

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Indonesia 123k works
  2. 2 China 40k works
  3. 3 India 30k works
  4. 4 United States 27k works
  5. 5 Russia 14k works
  6. 6 Brazil 14k works
  7. 7 ?? 8.1k works
  8. 8 Ukraine 6.6k works
  9. 9 United Kingdom 6.3k works
  10. 10 Germany 6.1k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Indonesia: 44.8%China: 14.5%India: 10.8%United States: 9.9%6 others listed: 20.0%45%largest
Indonesia123k · 44.8%China40k · 14.5%India30k · 10.8%United States27k · 9.9%6 others listed55k · 20.0%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Information Systems research?

Vellore Institute of Technology University (India) ranks first in Information Systems on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Johannesburg and University of Hong Kong.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Vellore Institute of Technology University India · Vellore · #45 all time 25.5% top 10% · 633 works
  2. 2 University of Johannesburg South Africa · Johannesburg 35.2% top 10% · 297 works
  3. 3 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Pok Fu Lam · #31 all time 40.4% top 10% · 195 works
  4. 4 Saveetha University India · Chennai 18.7% top 10% · 536 works
  5. 5 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong · Hong Kong · #50 all time 43.7% top 10% · 212 works
  6. 6 Wuhan University China · Wuhan · #53 all time 35.4% top 10% · 296 works
  7. 7 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #12 all time 32.9% top 10% · 398 works
  8. 8 Nanyang Technological University Singapore · Singapore · #16 all time 41.0% top 10% · 245 works
  9. 9 King Saud University Saudi Arabia · Riyadh · #54 all time 45.7% top 10% · 215 works
  10. 10 Monash University Australia · Melbourne · #52 all time 42.4% top 10% · 214 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 1,291 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Information Systems.

Top 100 Information Systems institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 State University of Padang Indonesia 2.4k works
  2. 2 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 2.3k works
  3. 3 State University of Makassar Indonesia 2.1k works
  4. 4 State University of Malang Indonesia 2.1k works
  5. 5 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 1.9k works
  6. 6 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 1.8k works
  7. 7 State University of Medan Indonesia 1.8k works
  8. 8 Universitas Negeri Surabaya Indonesia 1.7k works
  9. 9 State University of Semarang Indonesia 1.6k works
  10. 10 Universitas Muhammadiyah Tapanuli Selatan Indonesia 1.5k works

Who are the leading researchers in Information Systems?

Among the most productive authors in Information Systems, Ion Stoica, Wei Liu and Dan Boneh rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Ion Stoica United States · #22 worldwide 9.6k citations · 170 works
  2. 2 Wei Liu Australia · #55 worldwide 9.7k citations · 149 works
  3. 3 Dan Boneh United States · #95 worldwide 7.5k citations · 143 works
  4. 4 Anil K. Jain United States · #178 worldwide 6.3k citations · 275 works
  5. 5 Laxmikant V. Kalé United States · #201 worldwide 3k citations · 183 works
  6. 6 Rajkumar Buyya Australia · #240 worldwide 7.8k citations · 379 works
  7. 7 Wei Liu China · #275 worldwide 9.7k citations · 371 works
  8. 8 Dawn Song United States · #303 worldwide 3.8k citations · 150 works
  9. 9 Francisco Herrera Spain · #517 worldwide 6.5k citations · 311 works
  10. 10 Adrian Perrig United States · #689 worldwide 3.2k citations · 146 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,574 highest-output authors in Information Systems. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Information Systems researchers

Where is Information Systems research done?

The largest centres of Information Systems research in 2022–2025 are Jakarta (Indonesia), Bandung (Indonesia), Medan (Indonesia) and Beijing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Pematangsiantar, Sampit and Garut.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Jakarta Indonesia 13k works
  2. 2 Bandung Indonesia 9.1k works
  3. 3 Medan Indonesia 7.6k works
  4. 4 Beijing China 7.4k works
  5. 5 Surabaya Indonesia 6.5k works
  6. 6 Semarang Indonesia 5.9k works
  7. 7 Yogyakarta Indonesia 5.3k works
  8. 8 Makassar Indonesia 5.2k works
  9. 9 Moscow Russia 5k works
  10. 10 Malang Indonesia 4.9k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Pematangsiantar75.9 works24×
  2. SampitID · 56.5 works13×
  3. Garut93.4 works13×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Information Systems than the world average.

See Information Systems on the map

Information Systems research by country

The best places for Information Systems research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Information Systems?

Among universities, judged by research, Universitas Muhammadiyah Tapanuli Selatan, Universitas Informatika dan Bisnis Indonesia and Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 7.79%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Universitas Muhammadiyah Tapanuli Selatan: 1,539, 5.9%Universitas Informatika dan Bisnis Indonesia: 1,332, 3.8%Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia: 313, 17.0%Indonesia University of Education: 2,264, 10.0%Universitas Indraprasta PGRI: 1,136, 2.5%State University of Makassar: 2,122, 5.4%State University of Padang: 2,422, 8.2%Universitas PGRI Semarang: 1,403, 5.7%Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha: 1,054, 11.7%State University of Malang: 2,078, 7.7%Universitas Teknokra…Indonesia University…Universitas Muhammad…Universitas Informat…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Universitas Muhammadiyah Tapanuli Selatan Indonesia 60.05.9%9.7×1,539 +2125.2%
2Universitas Informatika dan Bisnis Indonesia Indonesia 58.13.8%10.3×1,332 +2297.9%
3Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia Indonesia 56.617.0%15.7×313 +3054.2%
4Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 56.510.0%6.2×2,264 +1304.7%
5Universitas Indraprasta PGRI Indonesia 56.02.5%12.3×1,136 +6752.1%
6State University of Makassar Indonesia 55.65.4%7.2×2,122 +1213.2%
7State University of Padang Indonesia 55.58.2%6.1×2,422 +1113.3%
8Universitas PGRI Semarang Indonesia 55.55.7%8.3×1,403 +983.3%
9Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Indonesia 54.311.7%7.2×1,054 +1194.3%
10State University of Malang Indonesia 54.17.7%5.9×2,078 +1499.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Information Systems research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 73% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2023. The fastest-growing topics are Blockchain Technology in Education and Learning, Multimedia Learning Systems and Data Mining and Machine Learning Applications.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Blockchain Technology in Education and Learning+5822%
  2. Multimedia Learning Systems+5638%
  3. Data Mining and Machine Learning Applications+4528%
  4. Educational Methods and Media Use+3419%
  5. English Language Learning and Teaching+2669%
  6. Blockchain Technology Applications and Security+1784%
  7. Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services-56%
  8. Educational Technology and Assessment-61%
  9. Advanced Decision-Making Techniques-79%
  10. Higher Education and Teaching Methods-87%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Information Systems include?

Educational Methods and Media Use: 93k fractional worksHigher Education and Teaching Methods: 87k fractional worksService-Oriented Architecture and Web Services: 66k fractional worksCloud Computing and Resource Management: 56k fractional worksBlockchain Technology Applications and Security: 55k fractional worksSoftware Engineering Research: 50k fractional worksBlockchain Technology in Education and Learning: 43k fractional worksMultimedia Learning Systems: 37k fractional worksData Mining Algorithms and Applications: 36k fractional worksAdvanced Decision-Making Techniques: 35k fractional worksEducational Technology and Assessment: 35k fractional worksSoftware Engineering Techniques and Practices: 33k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.