DATA SOURCES & COVERAGE

What the platform measures—and what it does not

Scholarly metadata

ResearchRank retrieves author, institution, publisher, work, citation, topic and identifier metadata from the configured scholarly API. Source identifiers are retained so profiles can be rechecked and probable duplicate records can be flagged.

Refresh and caching

API responses are cached for performance with shorter caching for search and longer caching for stable profile metadata. The ranking calculation itself is performed server-side from the current source response and declared filter context.

Entity disambiguation

Source IDs and ORCID, when present, are stronger identifiers than names. Similar names alone are never automatically merged. Probable duplicates are identified using ORCID, normalized name, institution overlap and output similarity and are presented for review.

Coverage limitations

Bibliographic databases can contain missing works, delayed citations, affiliation errors, merged or split author records and uneven field coverage. A mathematically exact calculation can still reflect imperfections in the underlying metadata.

Responsible use

ResearchRank analytics and certificates are supplementary evidence. Formal hiring, promotion, funding or institutional evaluation should consider qualitative peer review and multiple independent indicators.

DETAILED GUIDANCE

Detailed service guidance

ResearchRank separates source data, analytical calculations, eligibility, payment, issuance and permanent verification so each step can be understood independently.

How should this page be interpreted?

Source-linked scholarly metadata describes the profile; ResearchRank calculations add ranking and recognition context. Eligibility is assessed independently of payment, and the certificate registry records the issued recognition separately from the changing live profile.

What happens when research data changes?

Profiles and rankings may change when indexed works, citations, affiliations, topics, open-access status or source records refresh. An issued certificate preserves its issue-time evidence and context; the live research profile can continue to evolve.

How are certification and payment separated?

Eligibility is determined before payment. Payment cannot create, increase or improve eligibility. Online payment must be verified by the server before certificate release; approved manual transfers follow the same issuance controls.

How are rankings and recognition calculated?

Ranking pages identify their ranking basis and evaluated population. Percentile recognition uses the profile's eligible ranking position relative to that population. Composite indicators are analytical aids and do not silently replace the stated ranking basis.

How is customer information protected?

Contact and delivery information is used for order fulfilment, certificate access, fraud prevention and limited transactional reminders. Sensitive payment credentials are handled by secure gateway components rather than stored in ResearchRank.

How does permanent verification work?

Each issued certificate receives a unique certificate number and verification record. Verification can show certificate status, issue date, recognition context and recorded scholarly evidence. A QR/reference on the PDF can point back to that record.

What are the limitations of bibliographic data?

Open scholarly metadata can contain author disambiguation errors, affiliation gaps, duplicate records, incomplete coverage and field differences. Source identifiers and linked records should be reviewed when the result is used for formal assessment.

What is the difference between live data and issue-time evidence?

Live data is refreshed for discovery and analytics. Issue-time evidence is the snapshot/context attached to the certificate transaction. This distinction helps preserve what was recognised even when current metrics later change.

How should ResearchRank recognition be described?

Use the exact certificate title and ResearchRank recognition class shown on the verification record. Do not describe a ResearchRank certificate as an official award or endorsement from OpenAlex, ORCID, a university, publisher or another external data source unless that organisation separately confirms it.