Figure 1

Figure 2

Number of publications associated with the 44 universities in our sample (2017–2019); in decreasing order_
| No. | University name | Papers | No. | University name | Papers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard Univ | 76,144 | 23 | Northeastern Univ | 14,893 |
| 2 | Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ | 37,016 | 24 | Beihang Univ | 14,484 |
| 3 | Zhejiang Univ | 35,204 | 25 | Dalian Univ of Technology | 13,861 |
| 4 | Tsinghua Univ | 32,681 | 26 | Zhengzhou Univ | 12,993 |
| 5 | Stanford Univ | 32,428 | 27 | Northwestern Polytechnical Univ | 12,497 |
| 6 | Peking Univ | 30,160 | 28 | Chongqing Univ | 12,451 |
| 7 | Sun Yat-Sen Univ | 26,823 | 29 | Univ of Electronic S & T of China | 12,334 |
| 8 | Huazhong Univ of S & T | 24,822 | 30 | Xiamen Univ | 11,607 |
| 9 | Fudan Univ | 24,475 | 31 | Beijing Institute of Technology | 11,206 |
| 10 | Sichuan Univ | 23,259 | 32 | Beijing Normal Univ | 10,043 |
| 11 | Central South Univ | 22,870 | 33 | Nankai Univ | 9970 |
| 12 | Xi’an Jiaotong Univ | 22,698 | 34 | Hunan Univ | 9811 |
| 13 | Shandong Univ | 21,601 | 35 | Lanzhou Univ | 9156 |
| 14 | Jilin Univ | 21,068 | 36 | China Agricultural Univ | 8762 |
| 15 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 20,750 | 37 | Northwest A & F Univ | 7817 |
| 16 | Univ of S & T of China | 20,747 | 38 | East China Normal Univ | 7610 |
| 17 | Wuhan Univ | 19,748 | 39 | National Univ of Defense Technology | 6601 |
| 18 | Nanjing Univ | 19,246 | 40 | Ocean Univ of China | 6390 |
| 19 | Tianjin Univ | 17,778 | 41 | Renmin Univ of China | 2946 |
| 20 | Tongji Univ | 17,226 | 42 | Yunnan Univ | 2835 |
| 21 | Southeast Univ | 16,959 | 43 | Xinjiang Univ | 1979 |
| 22 | South China Univ of Technology | 15,595 | 44 | Minzu Univ of China | 760 |
Factor analysis of the interdisciplinarity and diversity indicators (N = 42)_
| Rotated Component Matrixa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | ||
| 1 | 2 | |
| True RS | .881 | −.133 |
| Shannon | .877 | .455 |
| (1-Gini) | .862 | .456 |
| Simpson | .830 | .390 |
| Div* | .703 | .657 |
| Variety | .329 | .853 |
| Disparity | .792 | |
The Indicator scores generated by interd_vb_exe routine_
| University | DIV* | Rank | True RS | Rank | Simpson | Rank | Shannon | Rank | Variety | Rank | Disparity | Rank | (1-Gini) | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford Univ | 40.260 | 1 | 1.503 | 15 | 0.986 | 1 | 6.831 | 1 | 0.988 | 1 | 0.472 | 23 | 0.340 | 1 |
| Sun Yat-Sen Univ | 35.754 | 2 | 1.549 | 6 | 0.983 | 5 | 6.663 | 2 | 0.945 | 5 | 0.474 | 12 | 0.314 | 2 |
| Peking Univ | 33.352 | 3 | 1.516 | 13 | 0.982 | 7 | 6.568 | 4 | 0.953 | 3 | 0.474 | 15 | 0.291 | 4 |
| Zhejiang Univ | 33.237 | 4 | 1.549 | 7 | 0.983 | 3 | 6.594 | 3 | 0.949 | 4 | 0.473 | 18 | 0.292 | 3 |
| Harvard Univ | 32.328 | 5 | 1.288 | 39 | 0.983 | 6 | 6.512 | 7 | 0.988 | 1 | 0.471 | 25 | 0.274 | 7 |
| Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ | 31.151 | 6 | 1.553 | 5 | 0.984 | 2 | 6.565 | 5 | 0.921 | 9 | 0.471 | 26 | 0.283 | 5 |
| Sichuan Univ | 30.092 | 7 | 1.527 | 12 | 0.983 | 4 | 6.517 | 6 | 0.913 | 11 | 0.473 | 19 | 0.274 | 6 |
| Wuhan Univ | 29.117 | 8 | 1.548 | 8 | 0.982 | 9 | 6.465 | 8 | 0.917 | 10 | 0.473 | 16 | 0.264 | 8 |
| Northeastern Univ | 28.892 | 9 | 1.485 | 18 | 0.975 | 24 | 6.335 | 15 | 0.945 | 5 | 0.466 | 37 | 0.258 | 10 |
| Fudan Univ | 28.102 | 10 | 1.457 | 22 | 0.979 | 17 | 6.361 | 12 | 0.929 | 7 | 0.468 | 35 | 0.254 | 12 |
| Shandong Univ | 27.683 | 11 | 1.492 | 17 | 0.981 | 11 | 6.416 | 9 | 0.898 | 13 | 0.472 | 24 | 0.257 | 11 |
| East China Normal Univ | 27.471 | 12 | 1.495 | 16 | 0.980 | 12 | 6.415 | 10 | 0.886 | 18 | 0.470 | 28 | 0.260 | 9 |
| Nanjing Univ | 26.735 | 13 | 1.444 | 24 | 0.977 | 20 | 6.256 | 21 | 0.929 | 7 | 0.475 | 9 | 0.238 | 19 |
| Beijing Normal Univ | 26.427 | 14 | 1.575 | 4 | 0.976 | 22 | 6.328 | 16 | 0.890 | 16 | 0.467 | 36 | 0.250 | 13 |
| Xiamen Univ | 26.392 | 15 | 1.439 | 25 | 0.977 | 18 | 6.301 | 19 | 0.894 | 14 | 0.474 | 13 | 0.245 | 16 |
| Tongji Univ | 26.286 | 16 | 1.538 | 11 | 0.979 | 13 | 6.341 | 13 | 0.894 | 14 | 0.471 | 27 | 0.246 | 15 |
| Huazhong Univ of S&T | 25.700 | 17 | 1.452 | 23 | 0.979 | 15 | 6.308 | 18 | 0.886 | 18 | 0.475 | 10 | 0.241 | 18 |
| Central South Univ | 25.298 | 18 | 1.545 | 9 | 0.979 | 16 | 6.336 | 14 | 0.843 | 23 | 0.479 | 2 | 0.247 | 14 |
| Lanzhou Univ | 23.959 | 19 | 1.513 | 14 | 0.981 | 10 | 6.362 | 11 | 0.815 | 26 | 0.472 | 22 | 0.245 | 17 |
| Jilin Univ | 23.323 | 20 | 1.431 | 26 | 0.975 | 26 | 6.177 | 22 | 0.866 | 21 | 0.474 | 14 | 0.224 | 22 |
| Tsinghua Univ | 23.253 | 21 | 1.371 | 29 | 0.975 | 27 | 6.120 | 25 | 0.913 | 11 | 0.470 | 29 | 0.213 | 25 |
| Xi’an Jiaotong Univ | 22.879 | 22 | 1.409 | 27 | 0.975 | 25 | 6.128 | 24 | 0.890 | 16 | 0.472 | 21 | 0.214 | 24 |
| Zhengzhou Univ | 21.553 | 23 | 1.463 | 20 | 0.976 | 23 | 6.152 | 23 | 0.811 | 27 | 0.475 | 7 | 0.220 | 23 |
| Southeast Univ | 20.325 | 24 | 1.385 | 28 | 0.970 | 33 | 5.971 | 29 | 0.870 | 20 | 0.470 | 30 | 0.196 | 28 |
| Renmin Univ | 20.323 | 25 | 1.458 | 21 | 0.979 | 14 | 6.277 | 20 | 0.748 | 35 | 0.457 | 41 | 0.234 | 20 |
| Yunnan Univ | 18.896 | 26 | 1.540 | 10 | 0.982 | 8 | 6.314 | 17 | 0.681 | 39 | 0.469 | 31 | 0.233 | 21 |
| Nankai Univ | 18.091 | 27 | 1.334 | 32 | 0.969 | 40 | 5.894 | 32 | 0.827 | 24 | 0.462 | 40 | 0.187 | 30 |
| Univ of S&T – China | 17.782 | 28 | 1.303 | 37 | 0.968 | 41 | 5.797 | 38 | 0.850 | 22 | 0.477 | 5 | 0.172 | 38 |
| Tianjin Univ | 17.466 | 29 | 1.296 | 38 | 0.970 | 35 | 5.852 | 37 | 0.819 | 25 | 0.475 | 11 | 0.177 | 35 |
| South China Univ of Technol | 17.286 | 30 | 1.349 | 31 | 0.970 | 36 | 5.882 | 33 | 0.795 | 28 | 0.473 | 20 | 0.181 | 31 |
| Chongqing Univ | 17.029 | 31 | 1.313 | 34 | 0.970 | 34 | 5.856 | 36 | 0.795 | 28 | 0.478 | 3 | 0.176 | 36 |
| Hunan Univ | 16.958 | 32 | 1.307 | 36 | 0.973 | 30 | 5.913 | 31 | 0.772 | 32 | 0.480 | 1 | 0.180 | 32 |
| Ocean Univ of China | 16.824 | 33 | 1.734 | 1 | 0.977 | 21 | 6.102 | 26 | 0.677 | 40 | 0.473 | 17 | 0.207 | 26 |
| Dalian Univ of Technol | 16.509 | 34 | 1.315 | 33 | 0.974 | 29 | 5.922 | 30 | 0.756 | 34 | 0.478 | 4 | 0.180 | 33 |
| Harbin Inst of Technology | 15.412 | 35 | 1.286 | 40 | 0.969 | 38 | 5.769 | 39 | 0.776 | 31 | 0.475 | 8 | 0.165 | 39 |
| Beihang Univ | 15.007 | 36 | 1.311 | 35 | 0.970 | 37 | 5.762 | 40 | 0.780 | 30 | 0.465 | 38 | 0.163 | 40 |
| China Agricultural Univ | 14.671 | 37 | 1.670 | 3 | 0.973 | 31 | 5.873 | 35 | 0.701 | 37 | 0.469 | 34 | 0.176 | 37 |
| Northwest A&F Univ | 14.040 | 38 | 1.681 | 2 | 0.972 | 32 | 5.881 | 34 | 0.665 | 41 | 0.469 | 33 | 0.177 | 34 |
| Beijing Inst of Technol | 13.944 | 39 | 1.269 | 44 | 0.969 | 39 | 5.728 | 41 | 0.724 | 36 | 0.475 | 6 | 0.159 | 41 |
| Xinjiang Univ | 12.921 | 40 | 1.369 | 30 | 0.975 | 28 | 5.997 | 28 | 0.571 | 42 | 0.463 | 39 | 0.193 | 29 |
| Univ of Electronic S&T of China | 12.847 | 41 | 1.281 | 42 | 0.950 | 44 | 5.428 | 43 | 0.768 | 33 | 0.448 | 43 | 0.147 | 42 |
| Minzu Univ of China | 12.104 | 42 | 1.464 | 19 | 0.977 | 19 | 6.049 | 27 | 0.535 | 44 | 0.448 | 42 | 0.199 | 27 |
| Northwestern Polytechnical Univ | 12.062 | 43 | 1.275 | 43 | 0.962 | 42 | 5.571 | 42 | 0.693 | 38 | 0.469 | 32 | 0.146 | 43 |
| National Univ of Defense Technol | 7.783 | 44 | 1.285 | 41 | 0.951 | 43 | 5.274 | 44 | 0.563 | 43 | 0.446 | 44 | 0.122 | 44 |
Spearman's correlations for ranking order generated by Interd_vb_exe (N = 42)_
| DIV* | TRUE RS | VARIETY | DISPARITY | (1 -GINI) | SIMPSON SHANNON | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIV* | ||||||
| TRUE RS | .563** | |||||
| VARIETY | .926** | .323* | ||||
| DISPARITY | .215 | −.092 | .230 | |||
| (1 – GINI) | .936 | .717** | .772** | .074 | ||
| SIMPSON | .789** | .766** | .551** | .085 | .917** | |
| SHANNON | .911** | .734** | .725** | 087 | .990** | .950** |
The differences among provided programs_
| Routine | Name of program required | Input | Output | Other output | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interd_vb.exe | Interdis.exe | *.txt file containing comma-separated variables | Interdis.csv Interdis.dbf | https://www.leydesdorff.net/software/interdisc.2020/ | |
| Syn3_vb.exe | Syn3.exe | *.txt file containing comma-separated variables | synergy.csv synergy.dbf | Minus.net; minus.txt; t_edges.dbf, t_nodes.dbf, t123.dbf | https://www.leydesdorff.net/software/synergy.triads/ |
| Mode2div.exe | .net file (Pajek) format | Div_col.dbf | https://www.leydesdorff.net/ | ||
| jcitnetw.exe | WoS downloads | CR as input for mode2div | https://www.leydesdorff.net/software/interdisc/index.htm |
Local vs_ global disparity using JCR data for 2019_
| University | DIV* | Rank | TRUE RS | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford Univ | 72.956 | 1 | 5.488 | 2 |
| Sun Yat-Sen Univ | 68.429 | 2 | 4.741 | 5 |
| Zhejiang Univ | 63.343 | 3 | 4.300 | 12 |
| Peking Univ | 62.654 | 4 | 4.632 | 8 |
| Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ | 60.907 | 5 | 4.643 | 7 |
| Sichuan Univ | 58.367 | 6 | 4.033 | 19 |
| Harvard Univ | 58.301 | 7 | 4.461 | 9 |
| Wuhan Univ | 56.903 | 8 | 4.702 | 6 |
| Northeastern Univ | 54.887 | 9 | 4.161 | 15 |
| Fudan Univ | 54.196 | 10 | 3.897 | 22 |
| Shandong Univ | 53.921 | 11 | 4.162 | 14 |
| East China Normal Univ | 51.757 | 12 | 4.309 | 11 |
| Xiamen Univ | 51.354 | 13 | 3.705 | 24 |
| Tongji Univ | 51.348 | 14 | 4.823 | 4 |
| Beijing Normal Univ | 50.815 | 15 | 5.082 | 3 |
| Huazhong Univ of S&T | 50.632 | 16 | 3.963 | 20 |
| Central South Univ | 50.535 | 17 | 4.107 | 17 |
| Nanjing Univ | 50.285 | 18 | 3.851 | 23 |
| Lanzhou Univ | 47.622 | 19 | 4.087 | 18 |
| Jilin Univ | 46.049 | 20 | 3.292 | 34 |
| Xi’an Jiaotong Univ | 45.655 | 21 | 3.664 | 25 |
| Tsinghua Univ | 45.121 | 22 | 3.601 | 26 |
| Zhengzhou Univ | 43.389 | 23 | 3.442 | 29 |
| Southeast Univ | 39.662 | 24 | 3.902 | 21 |
| Renmin Univ | 37.896 | 25 | 5.563 | 1 |
| Nankai Univ | 36.427 | 26 | 2.950 | 43 |
| Yunnan Univ | 36.236 | 27 | 4.382 | 10 |
| Univ of S & T – China | 35.002 | 28 | 2.876 | 44 |
| Tianjin Univ | 34.613 | 29 | 2.995 | 41 |
| South China Univ of Technol | 34.388 | 30 | 2.978 | 42 |
| Ocean Univ of China | 32.747 | 31 | 4.202 | 13 |
| Chongqing Univ | 32.519 | 32 | 3.260 | 35 |
| Hunan Univ | 32.394 | 33 | 3.379 | 32 |
| Dalian Univ of Technol | 31.933 | 34 | 3.355 | 33 |
| Harbin Inst of Technol | 30.166 | 35 | 3.191 | 36 |
| Beihang Univ | 30.029 | 36 | 3.508 | 28 |
| China Agricultural Univ | 29.258 | 37 | 3.396 | 31 |
| Northwest A & F Univ | 27.904 | 38 | 3.402 | 30 |
| Beijing Inst of Technol | 27.102 | 39 | 3.184 | 37 |
| Univ of Electronic S&T of China | 26.892 | 40 | 3.073 | 39 |
| Xinjiang Univ | 25.828 | 41 | 3.531 | 27 |
| Northwestern Polytechnical Univ | 23.873 | 42 | 3.031 | 40 |
| Minzu Univ of China | 22.645 | 43 | 4.132 | 16 |
| National Univ of Defense Technol | 16.236 | 44 | 3.118 | 38 |
Spearman's correlations for consistency of rank order – local vs_ global disparity_
| DIV*_local | TRUE RS_local | DIV*_global | TRUE RS_global | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIV*_local | ||||
| TRUE RS_local | .502** | |||
| DIV*_global | .996** | .516** | ||
| TRUE RS_global | .697** | .707** | .695** |