Taibah University

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND STRATEGIC VISION

Taibah University presents a complex but promising scientific integrity profile, marked by clear areas of strength and specific, addressable vulnerabilities. With an overall score of 0.531, the institution demonstrates notable resilience, effectively mitigating several systemic risks prevalent at the national level, particularly concerning retracted publications, hyperprolific authorship, and impact dependency. These strengths are foundational to its mission of achieving "quality research." However, the university shows higher-than-average exposure to risks related to multiple affiliations, institutional self-citation, publication in discontinued journals, and redundant output. These patterns suggest a potential focus on quantitative metrics that could, if left unaddressed, undermine the "excellence" and "knowledge economy" goals central to its mission. The institution's strong research capabilities are evident in its national leadership, with SCImago Institutions Rankings data placing it in the top 10 in Saudi Arabia for critical fields such as Veterinary, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Dentistry, and Energy. By strategically addressing the identified integrity risks, Taibah University can ensure its operational practices fully align with its ambitious vision, solidifying its reputation for both high-impact and high-quality scientific contribution.

ANALYSIS BY INDICATOR

Rate of Multiple Affiliations

The university's Z-score of 2.722 is significantly higher than the national average of 0.704, indicating a greater exposure to the risks associated with this practice. This disparity suggests that the institution is more prone to behaviors that could be interpreted as strategic attempts to inflate institutional credit. While multiple affiliations are often a legitimate result of collaboration, the elevated rate at Taibah University warrants a review of internal policies to ensure they promote genuine partnerships and prevent "affiliation shopping," thereby safeguarding the transparency and fairness of academic credit attribution.

Rate of Retracted Output

Taibah University demonstrates exceptional performance in this area, with a Z-score of -0.287 that stands in stark contrast to the country's significant-risk score of 1.274. This indicates the institution functions as an effective filter, successfully insulating itself from the systemic issues leading to retractions at the national level. This low score suggests that the university's pre-publication quality control mechanisms are robust and that its integrity culture is strong, preventing the kind of recurring malpractice or lack of methodological rigor that a higher rate would imply.

Rate of Institutional Self-Citation

With a Z-score of 0.816, the university shows a much higher rate of institutional self-citation compared to the national average of 0.060. This pattern suggests a heightened risk of operating within a scientific "echo chamber," where research is validated internally rather than by the broader global community. While a certain level of self-citation reflects focused research lines, this disproportionately high rate warns of potential endogamous impact inflation, where the institution's academic influence may be oversized by internal dynamics rather than external scrutiny and recognition.

Rate of Output in Discontinued Journals

The university's Z-score of 1.480 is higher than the national average of 1.132, signaling a greater institutional exposure to publishing in questionable outlets. This constitutes a critical alert regarding due diligence in selecting dissemination channels. The high score indicates that a notable portion of the university's scientific production is being channeled through media that do not meet international ethical or quality standards, which carries severe reputational risks and suggests an urgent need for enhanced information literacy to prevent the waste of resources on "predatory" or low-quality practices.

Rate of Hyper-Authored Output

The institution maintains a prudent profile in authorship practices, with a Z-score of -0.921, which is even more rigorous than the low national standard of -0.763. This demonstrates that the university manages its processes with more control than its national peers. The data suggests that, outside of "Big Science" contexts, the institution is effectively avoiding author list inflation, thereby preserving individual accountability and transparency in its collaborative research efforts.

Gap between Impact of total output and the impact of output with leadership

Taibah University exhibits strong institutional resilience, with a Z-score of -0.496, which is a positive deviation from the national average of 0.491. This result indicates that the university's control mechanisms are successfully mitigating the country's systemic risk of impact dependency. The data suggests that the institution's scientific prestige is not reliant on external partners but is instead driven by its own structural capacity and intellectual leadership, signaling a sustainable and robust model for generating high-impact research.

Rate of Hyperprolific Authors

The university demonstrates institutional resilience against the risks of hyperprolificity, with a Z-score of -0.027, far below the country's medium-risk score of 2.211. This suggests that internal control mechanisms are effectively mitigating a risk that is more pronounced at the national level. This low rate indicates a healthy balance between quantity and quality, steering clear of extreme publication volumes that can challenge the limits of meaningful intellectual contribution and often point to risks such as coercive or honorary authorship.

Rate of Output in Institutional Journals

In this indicator, the university's Z-score of -0.268 shows total alignment with the country's score of -0.234, reflecting an environment of maximum scientific security. This integrity synchrony demonstrates a shared commitment to avoiding the conflicts of interest inherent in self-publishing. By primarily using external channels, the institution ensures its research undergoes independent peer review, which is essential for limiting academic endogamy, enhancing global visibility, and validating its scientific production through standard competitive processes.

Rate of Redundant Output

The university's Z-score of 2.165 is substantially higher than the national average of 0.188, indicating a high exposure to practices that resemble "salami slicing." This value serves as a significant alert, suggesting a tendency to fragment coherent studies into minimal publishable units, likely to artificially inflate productivity metrics. This practice not only overburdens the peer review system but also distorts the available scientific evidence, prioritizing publication volume over the generation of significant and cohesive new knowledge.