差异的世界：大学排名的全球调查

A World of Difference：A Global Survey of University League Tables

本文研究了全球19个大学排行榜，描述了排行榜作为质量评价手段是如何运作的，详细讨论了现有排名系统使用的质量指针并归纳出在排名上存在的不同地域模式。本文发现，世界上的主要排行榜之间没有多少联系，它们采用差别很大的指针和权重来评估大学。但是，有一些大学，无论是用何种的指针和权重，都会居于排行榜的前列。本文还探讨了与目前流行的严格按分数高低排名的”不同的做法”，并得出了结论。

This article provides a global survey of 19 university league tables and ranking systems from around the world. It discusses how league tables serve generally as measurements of or judgments on quality and surveys the galaxy of quality indicators used by the existing league tables and ranking systems. The main finding is that the world’s main ranking systems bear little if any relationship to one another， using very different indicators and weightings to arrive at a measure of quality. Yet certain institutions repeatedly come at the top of the heap regardless of the system of indicators and weights used. The article also explores an alternative to the strict “league table” format that is presently the dominant model for institutional rankings and draw their conclusions.