Scientists at Stanford University recently ranked the ‘top’ 2% of scientists in a variety of fields. The ranking contained an up-to-date list of the most highly cited scientists in these disciplines. That is, the list consists of the top 100,000 scientists based on an aggregate of numerical indicators, equal in this case to those scientists who have authored papers whose citation count lies in the top 2% in each field.
The presence of Indian scientists in this list has garnered substantial public attention. They have been accompanied by institutional press releases, news features, and award citations.
Given this fanfare, it’s important that we understand what the top 2% ranking system actually measures and how well the measure correlates with real-world scientific achievement.
