Research on bibliometrics and the World’s leading universities

This paper explores the role of the leading universities in the genesis and the evolution of the academic field of bibliometrics. A recent bibliometric methodology is applied to publications in bibliometrics from the major universities of the Academic (Shanghai) Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education rankings. The results of this study challenge the traditional notion that prestigious universities are the main catalysts for innovation, emphasizing the substantial contributions made by second-tier and third-tier institutions schools. The study confirms the thesis of Fassin (2022) that—as for innovation in business—innovation in scientific knowledge does not necessarily originate from the top universities. It also corroborates the crucial role of the ‘idea champion’ or ‘concept advocates’. It are a few individuals who have started in different universities developing metrics and applying bibliometrics in their field, often solely and sometimes as a sideline to their major research areas. That makes the science of sciences a unique phenomenon in recent science.