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Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) is a bibliometric-based risk indicator developed by Lokman Meho, an information scientist at the American University of Beirut to assess research integrity vulnerabilities in global academic institutions.[1] It evaluates universities based on the rate of retracted articles and the proportion of publications in delisted journals, offering an alternative to conventional research rankings.[2][3]

Background

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Traditional global university rankings tend to prioritize output and citation metrics.[4][5][6] The RI² index offers a complementary lens focused on research reliability and ethical publishing practices. It was created to highlight patterns of publication misconduct or structural weaknesses in institutional oversight.[7][8][9]

Methodology

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The RI² score is computed using two indicators:

  1. Retraction Risk: Number of retracted articles per 1,000 publications over the latest two calendar years.
  2. Delisted Journal Risk: Percentage of articles published in journals removed from Scopus or Web of Science in the same period.

Universities are independently ranked on each dimension, and ranks are summed to compute the RI² score:

RI² = Rankretraction + Rankdelisted

Risk Tiers

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Institutions are assigned to tiers based on their RI² percentiles:

  • Red Flag (RI² ≥ 0.252) – Extreme anomalies across indicators; signals systemic integrity risk
  • High Risk (RI² ≥ 0.174 and < 0.252) – Significant deviation from global norms; suggests structural weaknesses
  • Watch List (RI² ≥ 0.099 and < 0.174) – Moderately elevated risk; emerging concerns warranting closer monitoring
  • Normal Variation (RI² ≥ 0.049 and < 0.099) – Operating within expected global variance; no immediate concern
  • Low Risk (RI² < 0.049) – Strong adherence to integrity-sensitive publishing norms

Red-Flagged Universities by Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²)

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This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).[10][11]

Rank University Country Articles in Delisted Journals (2023–24) % Output in Delisted Journals (2023–24) Retractions (2022–23) Retractions per 1,000 Articles (2022–23) D Rank R Rank RI² Score Color Tier
1 Vel Tech University India 1927 11.73% 226 26.77 0.763 0.970 0.866 🔴 Red
2 Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation India 3827 15.02% 575 19.25 0.979 0.697 0.838 🔴 Red
3 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University India 8071 11.88% 959 23.20 0.773 0.840 0.807 🔴 Red
4 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur India 1905 11.50% 219 22.32 0.748 0.808 0.778 🔴 Red
5 Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences India 10429 8.36% 872 27.61 0.543 1.000 0.772 🔴 Red
6 Anna University India 16871 10.15% 1712 23.79 0.660 0.862 0.761 🔴 Red
7 Graphic Era India 2525 6.77% 171 37.29 0.439 1.000 0.720 🔴 Red
8 Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technical University India 2736 11.07% 303 18.88 0.721 0.684 0.702 🔴 Red
9 University of Pune India 4411 15.35% 677 9.64 1.000 0.349 0.675 🔴 Red
10 Daffodil International University Bangladesh 1652 9.14% 151 18.51 0.594 0.670 0.632 🔴 Red
11 Al-Mustaqbal University College Iraq 2430 6.50% 158 21.52 0.422 0.780 0.601 🔴 Red
12 Visvesvaraya Technological University India 6637 11.24% 746 12.39 0.731 0.449 0.590 🔴 Red
13 Taif University Saudi Arabia 5179 7.43% 385 18.47 0.483 0.669 0.576 🔴 Red
14 Middle East University Jordan 1796 14.42% 259 4.77 0.939 0.173 0.556 🔴 Red
15 SRM Institute of Science and Technology India 8292 8.41% 697 15.35 0.546 0.556 0.551 🔴 Red
16 Majmaah University Saudi Arabia 1844 8.57% 158 14.55 0.557 0.527 0.542 🔴 Red
17 Northern Borders University Saudi Arabia 2001 10.49% 210 10.88 0.683 0.394 0.538 🔴 Red
18 Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia 8556 7.98% 683 14.99 0.519 0.543 0.531 🔴 Red
19 Chitkara University India 2882 6.38% 184 17.73 0.414 0.642 0.528 🔴 Red
20 Bina Nusantara University Indonesia 1721 17.95% 309 1.28 1.000 0.046 0.523 🔴 Red
21 Zhongnan University of Economics and Law China 1722 6.04% 104 16.59 0.391 0.601 0.496 🔴 Red
22 Annamalai University India 2013 11.23% 226 6.82 0.731 0.247 0.489 🔴 Red
23 GLA University India 3074 5.82% 179 16.39 0.377 0.594 0.486 🔴 Red
24 Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management India 2666 10.73% 286 7.41 0.698 0.269 0.483 🔴 Red
25 Riphah International University Pakistan 2081 4.32% 90 18.29 0.279 0.663 0.471 🔴 Red
26 University of Education Pakistan 1853 4.80% 89 17.33 0.311 0.628 0.469 🔴 Red
27 Al-Balqa Applied University Jordan 2195 10.34% 227 7.19 0.673 0.260 0.467 🔴 Red
28 Al Jouf University Saudi Arabia 3406 7.99% 272 10.71 0.519 0.388 0.453 🔴 Red
29 University of Management and Technology Pakistan 1819 5.44% 99 14.97 0.352 0.542 0.447 🔴 Red
30 The University of Lahore Pakistan 2905 5.37% 156 14.95 0.348 0.542 0.445 🔴 Red
31 University of Jeddah Saudi Arabia 2800 7.86% 220 10.26 0.510 0.372 0.441 🔴 Red
32 Symbiosis International University India 2904 10.16% 295 5.96 0.661 0.216 0.438 🔴 Red
33 Applied Science Private University Jordan 2382 10.45% 249 5.36 0.680 0.194 0.437 🔴 Red
34 Uttaranchal University India 1709 5.79% 99 13.50 0.375 0.489 0.432 🔴 Red
35 Hainan Medical University China 2740 3.32% 91 17.84 0.214 0.646 0.430 🔴 Red
36 Ajman University United Arab Emirates 2226 6.74% 150 11.59 0.437 0.420 0.428 🔴 Red
37 University of Kufa Iraq 1739 11.33% 197 3.13 0.737 0.113 0.425 🔴 Red
38 Government College University Faisalabad Pakistan 2909 5.43% 158 13.56 0.352 0.491 0.421 🔴 Red
39 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Kazakhstan 1643 9.86% 162 5.41 0.641 0.196 0.419 🔴 Red
40 University of Petroleum and Energy Studies India 2641 4.92% 130 14.16 0.318 0.513 0.416 🔴 Red
41 Chandigarh University India 4490 6.57% 295 11.07 0.426 0.401 0.414 🔴 Red
42 Universitas Airlangga Indonesia 5994 11.58% 694 1.99 0.754 0.072 0.413 🔴 Red
43 University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Pakistan 3288 5.84% 192 11.93 0.378 0.432 0.405 🔴 Red
44 University of Tabuk Saudi Arabia 3353 5.85% 196 11.87 0.379 0.430 0.404 🔴 Red
45 Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology India 2336 9.85% 230 4.62 0.640 0.167 0.404 🔴 Red
46 Shanghai University of Finance and Economics China 1624 4.00% 65 14.97 0.258 0.542 0.400 🔴 Red
47 Universitas Sumatera Utara Indonesia 1898 11.91% 226 0.67 0.775 0.024 0.400 🔴 Red
48 Hubei University of Medicine China 1599 3.25% 52 16.23 0.209 0.588 0.399 🔴 Red
49 Osmania University India 2034 7.03% 143 9.39 0.456 0.340 0.398 🔴 Red
50 King Faisal University Saudi Arabia 4875 8.12% 396 6.96 0.528 0.252 0.390 🔴 Red
51 Bahauddin Zakariya University Pakistan 2382 4.37% 104 13.73 0.282 0.497 0.390 🔴 Red
52 King Khalid University Saudi Arabia 11122 5.92% 658 10.78 0.383 0.391 0.387 🔴 Red
53 Vellore Institute of Technology India 10388 5.09% 529 12.00 0.330 0.435 0.382 🔴 Red
54 Sichuan Normal University China 2122 2.07% 44 17.25 0.132 0.625 0.379 🔴 Red
55 Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University Saudi Arabia 8730 6.08% 531 9.88 0.394 0.358 0.376 🔴 Red
56 Jazan University Saudi Arabia 4147 6.94% 288 7.78 0.451 0.282 0.366 🔴 Red
57 University of Babylon Iraq 2440 10.16% 248 1.96 0.661 0.071 0.366 🔴 Red
58 Government College University Lahore Pakistan 1835 5.83% 107 9.58 0.378 0.347 0.362 🔴 Red
59 Umm al-Qura University Saudi Arabia 5718 6.35% 363 8.60 0.412 0.312 0.362 🔴 Red
60 University of the Punjab Pakistan 4275 6.95% 297 7.47 0.451 0.271 0.361 🔴 Red
61 Najran University Saudi Arabia 2455 6.15% 151 8.89 0.399 0.322 0.360 🔴 Red
62 University of Hail Saudi Arabia 3125 5.50% 172 9.96 0.356 0.361 0.359 🔴 Red
63 INTI International University Malaysia 1627 11.00% 179 0.00 0.716 0.000 0.358 🔴 Red
64 Qassim University Saudi Arabia 5278 7.10% 375 6.81 0.461 0.247 0.354 🔴 Red
65 Hebei University of Engineering China 1903 3.42% 65 13.36 0.220 0.484 0.352 🔴 Red
66 Prince Sultan University Saudi Arabia 2474 6.95% 172 6.94 0.451 0.251 0.351 🔴 Red
67 Universitas Hasanuddin Indonesia 2799 10.15% 284 1.00 0.660 0.036 0.348 🔴 Red
68 Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Malaysia 2005 8.38% 168 4.15 0.544 0.150 0.347 🔴 Red
69 Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia 6734 9.70% 653 1.76 0.631 0.064 0.347 🔴 Red
70 Shaqra University Saudi Arabia 1588 7.05% 112 6.51 0.458 0.236 0.347 🔴 Red
71 Duy Tan University Vietnam 1814 5.79% 105 8.55 0.375 0.310 0.342 🔴 Red
72 Lovely Professional University India 5169 5.42% 280 9.19 0.351 0.333 0.342 🔴 Red
73 Al-Ahliyya Amman University Jordan 1693 9.92% 168 0.82 0.645 0.030 0.338 🔴 Red
74 University of Basrah Iraq 2053 9.16% 188 2.13 0.595 0.077 0.336 🔴 Red
75 Christ University India 2181 5.91% 129 7.87 0.383 0.285 0.334 🔴 Red
76 Menoufia University Egypt 3389 5.99% 203 7.48 0.388 0.271 0.330 🔴 Red
77 Ningxia Medical University China 2444 2.62% 64 13.50 0.168 0.489 0.328 🔴 Red
78 Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan 3102 4.22% 131 10.60 0.273 0.384 0.328 🔴 Red
79 University of Baghdad Iraq 6518 9.39% 612 1.06 0.610 0.038 0.324 🔴 Red
80 Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Kazakhstan 2267 5.38% 122 8.19 0.348 0.297 0.323 🔴 Red
81 Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology India 2056 6.18% 127 6.63 0.400 0.240 0.320 🔴 Red
82 Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Pakistan 2029 4.68% 95 9.33 0.303 0.338 0.320 🔴 Red
83 Shaoxing University China 2166 3.37% 73 11.62 0.217 0.421 0.319 🔴 Red
84 University of Mosul Iraq 2423 7.18% 174 4.63 0.466 0.168 0.317 🔴 Red
85 Universitas Sebelas Maret Indonesia 2621 9.46% 248 0.47 0.615 0.017 0.316 🔴 Red
86 King Saud University Saudi Arabia 27268 3.62% 988 10.86 0.234 0.393 0.313 🔴 Red
87 National Institute of Technology Patna India 1660 8.07% 134 2.82 0.524 0.102 0.313 🔴 Red
88 Jinzhou Medical University China 1594 2.01% 32 13.75 0.128 0.498 0.313 🔴 Red
89 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysia 5797 7.54% 437 3.66 0.489 0.133 0.311 🔴 Red
90 University of Madras India 2210 4.16% 92 9.74 0.269 0.353 0.311 🔴 Red
91 Huizhou University China 2010 2.14% 43 13.33 0.136 0.483 0.310 🔴 Red
92 COMSATS University Islamabad Pakistan 5494 5.37% 295 7.49 0.348 0.271 0.309 🔴 Red
93 University of Mumbai India 2163 8.28% 179 2.15 0.538 0.078 0.308 🔴 Red
94 Wannan Medical College China 1698 2.30% 39 12.81 0.147 0.464 0.305 🔴 Red
95 Southwestern University of Finance and Economics China 2349 2.77% 65 11.67 0.178 0.423 0.300 🔴 Red
96 Future University in Egypt Egypt 1953 3.99% 78 9.33 0.258 0.338 0.298 🔴 Red
97 Al-Mustansiriya University Iraq 2465 7.91% 195 2.19 0.514 0.080 0.297 🔴 Red
98 Bharathiar University India 2645 6.54% 173 4.63 0.424 0.168 0.296 🔴 Red
99 Taibah University Saudi Arabia 3274 6.63% 217 4.40 0.430 0.159 0.295 🔴 Red
100 Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Saudi Arabia 3451 5.27% 182 6.70 0.341 0.243 0.292 🔴 Red
101 Linyi University China 1597 1.69% 27 13.17 0.107 0.477 0.292 🔴 Red
102 Hebei Medical University China 5435 3.53% 192 9.83 0.228 0.356 0.292 🔴 Red
103 Lebanese American University Lebanon 5811 6.18% 359 4.98 0.401 0.181 0.291 🔴 Red
104 University of Sargodha Pakistan 1826 4.05% 74 8.38 0.262 0.304 0.283 🔴 Red
105 King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia 11458 4.82% 552 6.98 0.312 0.253 0.282 🔴 Red
106 Xi'an Polytechnic University China 1724 2.78% 48 10.63 0.179 0.385 0.282 🔴 Red
107 Xuzhou Medical University China 4565 2.28% 104 11.52 0.146 0.417 0.281 🔴 Red
108 Jimma University Ethiopia 1821 2.14% 39 11.65 0.137 0.422 0.279 🔴 Red
109 Firat University Turkey 2345 7.72% 181 1.26 0.501 0.046 0.273 🔴 Red
110 Near East University Turkey 2206 6.07% 134 4.20 0.394 0.152 0.273 🔴 Red
111 Bharathidasan University India 2340 5.21% 122 5.58 0.337 0.202 0.270 🔴 Red
112 Xinjiang Medical University China 2015 1.79% 36 11.48 0.113 0.416 0.265 🔴 Red
113 Anhui Jianzhu University China 1739 3.05% 53 9.14 0.196 0.331 0.263 🔴 Red
114 University of Technology, Iraq Iraq 2831 5.09% 144 5.35 0.329 0.194 0.262 🔴 Red
115 Shijiazhuang Tiedao University China 1870 2.35% 44 10.25 0.150 0.371 0.261 🔴 Red
116 Pondicherry University India 1801 5.39% 97 4.76 0.349 0.172 0.261 🔴 Red
117 Ibn Tofail University Morocco 2154 7.66% 165 0.57 0.497 0.021 0.259 🔴 Red
118 Amity University, Noida India 4364 5.48% 239 4.48 0.355 0.162 0.258 🔴 Red
119 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia 7344 5.72% 420 3.98 0.371 0.144 0.257 🔴 Red
120 Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Brazil 2412 1.91% 46 10.81 0.121 0.392 0.256 🔴 Red
121 Yarmouk University Jordan 1835 7.14% 131 1.19 0.463 0.043 0.253 🔴 Red

Note: Retraction and delisted journal data are sourced from Meho (2025), Nature (Van Noorden 2025), and RI² database curated by the American University of Beirut.

Key Findings

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The index is designed as a risk monitor, not a ranking of prestige. According to its creator, over-reliance on flawed bibliometrics incentives may allow paper mills, unethical collaborations, or manipulation of editorial and peer-review processes to go undetected in standard rankings.[10]

External reception

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The methodology and findings have drawn international attention.[12] A 2025 article in Nature spotlighted universities with unusually high numbers of retractions, citing RI² data in its analysis.[10][1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Naddaf, Miryam (2025-06-06). "'Integrity index' flags universities with high retraction rates". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01727-3. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 40481200.
  2. ^ 中国科学报 (2025-06-09). "科学家希望用"诚信指数"重塑大学排名". finance.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  3. ^ Gadd, Elizabeth (2020-11-24). "University rankings need a rethink". Nature. 587 (7835): 523. Bibcode:2020Natur.587..523G. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03312-2. PMID 33235367.
  4. ^ Jones, Nicola (2025-06-04). "Science-integrity project will root out bad medical papers 'and tell everyone'". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01739-z. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 40468547.
  5. ^ "The scientific world does not need more bad quality papers". University World News. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  6. ^ Chawla2025-03-26T09:30:00+00:00, Dalmeet Singh. "Fourteen universities may have manipulated institutional rankings, analysis finds". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2025-06-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Meho, L. I. (2025). "Gaming the Metrics? Bibliometric Anomalies and the Integrity Crisis in Global Research." arXiv:2505.06448.
  8. ^ "Research integrity is much more than misconduct". Nature. 570 (7759): 5. 2019-06-03. Bibcode:2019Natur.570R...5.. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01727-0. PMID 31160744.
  9. ^ Abalkina, Anna; Aquarius, René; Bik, Elisabeth; Bimler, David; Bishop, Dorothy; Byrne, Jennifer; Cabanac, Guillaume; Day, Adam; Labbé, Cyril; Wise, Nick (2025-01-27). "'Stamp out paper mills' — science sleuths on how to fight fake research". Nature. 637 (8048): 1047–1050. Bibcode:2025Natur.637.1047A. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00212-1. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 39870791.
  10. ^ a b c Van Noorden, Richard (2025). "Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles". Nature. 638 (8051): 596–599. Bibcode:2025Natur.638..596V. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00455-y. PMID 39972233.
  11. ^ Meho, Lokman I.; Akl, Elie A. (2025-02-19). "Using bibliometrics to detect questionable authorship and affiliation practices and their impact on global research metrics: A case study of 14 universities". Quantitative Science Studies. 6: 63–98. doi:10.1162/qss_a_00339. ISSN 2641-3337.
  12. ^ ""研究诚信风险指数"提示高撤稿率大学—新闻—科学网". news.sciencenet.cn. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
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