Humanities, Arts And Social Sciences Research Articles

University and Discipline Cluster Ranking Systems and the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

This paper addresses one of the weaknesses of many rankings – the exclusion of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) from university and discipline cluster ranking systems and examines some ways in which this situation can be corrected. In particular, it traces the development of indicators such as ‘target expanded’ citation analysis and tiering or ranking of outlets, including books and conferences as well as journals. It draws on experience in Australia, especially with the attempt to construct consensually derived tiered outlets for numerous disciplines including those in HASS in the context of the introduction of a new Research Quality Framework along the lines of similar exercises in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.