Institutional Data Collection
All institutions represented in Institutional Profiles have supplied up-to-date facts and statistics about:
- the size of their research and academic staffs
- their levels of funding
- the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded
Institutional data are provided and confirmed by each academic institution to ensure authenticity, and our first objective is to facilitate a smooth submission process that limits errors. We have provided university representatives a strong support structure and, where possible, pre-populated profiles with authoritative third-party data which institutions can confirm or revise.
Data Validation
Identification of logical data errors - we employ a number of algorithms to detect obvious errors in reporting or calculation.
Data comparisons - we compare newly submitted data to reliable third-party sources, most notably government agencies, to identify possible errors.
Data anomalies - reported data may be compared to expected values and searched for outliers. For example, if a university has a funding-per-faculty ratio that is far higher than the ratio for the university’s peer group, the data are flagged for follow-up.