From Citations to Success: Trend Analysis of HKU Research Performance with Essential Science Indicators 2024
— by Chloe Ng
In our previous analyses of the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) research performance using Essential Science Indicators (ESI) data in 2022 and 2023, we highlighted the strong presence of HKU scholars across various disciplines. This blog post will look into the five-year trend of HKU’s research performance, overviewing the change in HKU’s research impact over time1.
Highly Cited Institutions
Institution ranking is calculated based on the citations received by an institution in a 10-year period in each of the 22 ESI research field2. Among all organisations producing research in the same research field, the top 1% institutions by citation ranking would be regarded as Highly Cited Institution (Essential Science Indicators: Librarian, 2023).
In the past 5 years, HKU has been honourably listed as Highly Cited Institutions in 20 out of 22 research fields.
It shows our significant contributions to academia in a diverse range of disciplines. Remarkably, in the following 5 research fields, HKU ranks in the top 10% in terms of total citations received among the Highly Cited Institutions3, making us the top 1‰ in 2024.
| Research Field | Rank of HKU | Total Number of Highly Cited Institutions |
| Clinical Medicine | 190 | 6426 |
| Engineering | 86 | 2546 |
| Social Sciences, General | 81 | 2272 |
| Environment/ Ecology | 160 | 1940 |
| Microbiology | 71 | 744 |
Highly Cited Papers
Highly Cited Papers are papers that rank in the top 1% based on the number of citations received when compared to all the other papers published in the same year and in the same field (Essential Science Indicators: Librarian, 2023). It signifies that the paper has made a substantial impact in the discipline.
HKU has consistently produced a significant number of Highly Cited Papers, and we are reaching a record high of 1276 Highly Cited Papers in 2024. Among the 22 ESI research fields, HKU has the most highly cited papers in the field of Clinical Medicine, followed by Engineering, Social Science, General, and Physics. We can observe a rising trend in the number of HKU Highly Cited Papers over the past 5 years, with notable increases in the field of Immunology, Materials Science and Psychiatry/ Psychology.
In 2024, of all Highly Cited Papers listed in ESI, 0.64% were published by HKU. The figure has been gradually increasing over the years, highlighting our expanding influence in academia.
Hot Papers
While Highly Cited Papers look at the citations received over a 10-year span, Hot Papers focus on papers published in the last 2 years and count the citations received in the most recent bi-monthly period. Papers that received the top 0.1% citations in their respective fields would be listed as Hot Papers (Essential Science Indicators: Librarian, 2023). It reflects research output with rapid citation rates that capture immediate attention in the academia.
In the 3rd bi-monthly period of 2024, 35 Hot Papers are authored by HKU researchers, 12 of which in the field of Clinical Medicine, and 4 in the fields of Geosciences and Physics. These papers received significant attention shortly after publication, signaling our contribution to emerging trends and scientific breakthroughs.
The analysis of university performance with ESI data from 2020 to 2024 shows that HKU has impressive research performance across disciplines. While citation metrics provide insights into research impact, we should keep in mind that citation is not equivalent to quality. Number of citations only reflects a facet of research performance. A more balanced approach would be incorporating qualitative assessments and alternative metrics in evaluating research performance.
Notes
- ESI data covers a rolling 10-year period and includes bimonthly updates to rankings and citation counts. This blog post compares the 3rd bi-monthly dataset release from 2020 to 2024, each covering a 10-year-and-6-month period. For example, the 3rd bi-monthly dataset release in 2024 covers data from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2024.
- Citation counts are derived from journals indexed in Web of Science Core Collection and each journal is assigned to one of 22 research fields. More information on the ESI scope and coverage is available at: https://essentialscienceindicators.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/28150642413201-Scope-and-Coverage.
- Top 1‰ institution is derived by the citation rank of an institution within all Highly Cited Institutions listed on ESI in the same research field. For example, there are 6426 Highly Cited Institutions in Clinical Medicine in 2024. Institution rank of 642 or above would be regarded as top 1‰ institution in the field.
References
Essential Science Indicators: Librarian. (2023). https://clarivate.libguides.com/c.php?g=593878&p=4107959
