| Indicator | University Z-score | Average country Z-score |
|---|---|---|
|
Multi-affiliation
|
-0.178 | -0.821 |
|
Retracted Output
|
-0.334 | -0.095 |
|
Institutional Self-Citation
|
-1.150 | 0.288 |
|
Discontinued Journals Output
|
0.160 | -0.284 |
|
Hyperauthored Output
|
-0.854 | 0.472 |
|
Leadership Impact Gap
|
-0.625 | 0.807 |
|
Hyperprolific Authors
|
0.399 | -0.608 |
|
Institutional Journal Output
|
-0.268 | 1.531 |
|
Redundant Output
|
-1.186 | -0.247 |
The Juraj Dobrila University of Pula demonstrates a robust and healthy scientific profile, with an overall integrity score of -0.263 indicating a very low aggregate risk. The institution exhibits exceptional strengths in maintaining academic independence and originality, with particularly low rates of institutional self-citation, redundant output (salami slicing), and publication in its own journals. These results suggest a culture of external validation and a focus on substantive contributions. However, two areas require strategic attention: a moderate rate of publication in discontinued journals and a notable incidence of hyperprolific authors. These vulnerabilities, while not critical, could potentially undermine the university's commitment to research excellence. This strong integrity profile provides a solid foundation for its notable academic performance, particularly in its highest-ranking areas according to SCImago Institutions Rankings data, such as Business, Management and Accounting; Economics, Econometrics and Finance; and Computer Science. Although the institution's specific mission was not available for this analysis, these risk signals could conflict with the universal academic values of quality and social responsibility. By addressing these specific vulnerabilities, the university can further solidify its reputation and ensure its research practices are fully aligned with its strategic objectives and commitment to global scientific standards.
The university's rate of multiple affiliations (Z-score: -0.178) is slightly higher than the national average for Croatia (Z-score: -0.821). While both values are within a low-risk range, this subtle difference suggests an emerging vulnerability that warrants monitoring. While multiple affiliations are often a legitimate result of researcher mobility or partnerships, disproportionately high rates can signal strategic attempts to inflate institutional credit. The university should review these patterns to ensure they reflect genuine collaborations rather than practices like “affiliation shopping,” which could escalate into a reputational risk if left unaddressed.
With a Z-score of -0.334, the university demonstrates a more rigorous control over its published output compared to the national standard in Croatia (Z-score: -0.095). This prudent profile suggests effective pre-publication quality control mechanisms. Retractions are complex events, and a low rate indicates that the institution is successfully minimizing both unintentional errors and potential malpractice. This performance reflects a healthy integrity culture and robust supervision, reinforcing the reliability of its scientific contributions.
The university exhibits a remarkably low rate of institutional self-citation (Z-score: -1.150), effectively isolating itself from the medium-risk dynamics observed at the national level in Croatia (Z-score: 0.288). This result is a strong indicator of academic openness and external validation. While a certain level of self-citation is natural, disproportionately high rates can signal concerning scientific isolation or 'echo chambers'. The university's performance demonstrates that its research is being actively engaged with by the broader international community, avoiding the risk of its academic influence being oversized by internal dynamics rather than global recognition.
The university's rate of publication in discontinued journals (Z-score: 0.160) represents a moderate deviation from the lower-risk national trend in Croatia (Z-score: -0.284), indicating a greater institutional sensitivity to this risk factor. This constitutes a critical alert regarding due diligence in selecting dissemination channels. A high proportion of scientific production being channeled through media that do not meet international ethical or quality standards exposes the institution to severe reputational risks. This suggests an urgent need for information literacy to avoid wasting resources on 'predatory' or low-quality practices.
The university shows significant resilience against the national trend of hyper-authored publications, with a low-risk Z-score of -0.854 compared to Croatia's medium-risk score of 0.472. This suggests that the institution's control mechanisms are effectively mitigating a systemic risk present in its environment. When the pattern of extensive author lists appears outside 'Big Science' contexts, it can indicate author list inflation, diluting individual accountability. The university's strong performance here indicates a culture that values meaningful contributions over 'honorary' or political authorship practices.
The university effectively counters the national tendency towards impact dependency, showing a low-risk gap between its overall and led-research impact (Z-score: -0.625), in contrast to the medium-risk national average in Croatia (Z-score: 0.807). This demonstrates strong institutional resilience and intellectual leadership. A very wide positive gap can signal that scientific prestige is dependent and exogenous, posing a sustainability risk. The university's balanced profile suggests that its excellence metrics result from real internal capacity and that it exercises intellectual leadership within its collaborations.
The university displays a moderate deviation from the national norm regarding hyperprolific authors, with a Z-score of 0.399, which is notably higher than the low-risk average for Croatia (Z-score: -0.608). This greater sensitivity to risk warrants a review of its causes. Extreme individual publication volumes often challenge the limits of human capacity for meaningful intellectual contribution. This indicator alerts to potential imbalances between quantity and quality, pointing to risks such as coercive authorship or the assignment of authorship without real participation—dynamics that prioritize metrics over scientific record integrity.
With a very low Z-score of -0.268, the university demonstrates a clear preventive isolation from the medium-risk national propensity for publishing in institutional journals (Croatia Z-score: 1.531). This is a strong positive signal. Excessive dependence on in-house journals raises conflicts of interest and risks academic endogamy, where production might bypass independent external peer review. The university's practice of seeking external publication channels enhances the global visibility and competitive validation of its research, avoiding the use of internal channels as 'fast tracks' to inflate CVs.
The university's rate of redundant output is exceptionally low (Z-score: -1.186), a signal that aligns with and even improves upon the low-risk national standard in Croatia (Z-score: -0.247). This demonstrates a consistent commitment to producing substantive research. Massive and recurring bibliographic overlap between publications can indicate data fragmentation or 'salami slicing.' The university's excellent performance in this area shows a focus on presenting coherent, significant new knowledge rather than prioritizing publication volume, thereby strengthening the integrity of the scientific evidence it produces.
