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Posted

Anyone, on some off chance, know if old US News rankings are available? Seems like it could be useful to track the dynamics of rankings (and USNWR seems as good as any). But other than going to the library and digging out archived copies of the magazine, I'm not finding a way to get my hands on that data. Ideas?

Posted

You can try playing around with the "wayback machine". If you type that into google, you will find a search engine which opens the earlier versions of websites. Might come in handy

Posted

I have decided that I don't like any of the rankings and have spent about four hours getting data in one place. Bowling tonight, so analysis tomorrow with white-russian-induced hangover. Results sometime after that.

Effing rankings. What a waste of human and financial capital. Has anybody actually looked at which variables they include in the NRC and which they don't? Irksome. Irksome irksome irksome. Really irksome.

Posted

I have decided that I don't like any of the rankings and have spent about four hours getting data in one place.

Wait, what data?

Posted

All kinds---mostly the usual (poli sci) suspects but a few other places. I'll put all the sources in the write-up.

I actually probably had this data. I have a STATA file with all the raw data from these rankings compiled:

Will be interested in seeing the results.

Posted

Hey, it's time for a Qual to pretend like he knows what he's talking about:

How come the rankings aren't based on just straight opinions, like the corruption perceptions index from Transparency International? It is of course faulty, and highly subjective, but hey - isn't hiring, accepting manuscripts, etc. etc.? If enough scholars were surveyed, wouldn't their opinions represent what the academy perceives to be the rankings? And doesn't this matter the most for prospective students?

Just a query for yous guys to shoot down.

Posted

Hey, it's time for a Qual to pretend like he knows what he's talking about:

How come the rankings aren't based on just straight opinions, like the corruption perceptions index from Transparency International? It is of course faulty, and highly subjective, but hey - isn't hiring, accepting manuscripts, etc. etc.? If enough scholars were surveyed, wouldn't their opinions represent what the academy perceives to be the rankings? And doesn't this matter the most for prospective students?

Just a query for yous guys to shoot down.

Isn't this basically the USNWR ranking?

Posted

Isn't this basically the USNWR ranking?

I thought they narrowed it down - sort of an 'elite opinion' thing? Again, I've spent about 3 minutes of my life looking at these things. Just curious.

Posted

^ For that matter, you could also randomly sample graduate students and incorporate their perceptions about their home institutions, other institutions, etc. Very democratic. Would be highly imperfect, but it would represent an extra dimension for prospective students to consider.

Posted

I thought they narrowed it down - sort of an 'elite opinion' thing? Again, I've spent about 3 minutes of my life looking at these things. Just curious.

Sure, I think that's right. So then your point is less about having a ranking that's opinion-based, and more about increasing the sample to include more than department chairs/program heads. The TRIP survey does that for IR[1], beyond that, maybe it would make sense to get more opinions in different subfields. It might also be interesting to get grad student opinions, although I wonder to some extent how broad their knowledge would be of different departments, especially early year grad students.

[1] http://irtheoryandpractice.wm.edu/projects/trip/TRIP%202011%20RESULTS%20US%20RESPONDENTS.pdf

Posted

Hey, it's time for a Qual to pretend like he knows what he's talking about:

How come the rankings aren't based on just straight opinions, like the corruption perceptions index from Transparency International? It is of course faulty, and highly subjective, but hey - isn't hiring, accepting manuscripts, etc. etc.? If enough scholars were surveyed, wouldn't their opinions represent what the academy perceives to be the rankings? And doesn't this matter the most for prospective students?

Just a query for yous guys to shoot down.

I think hiring decisions and accepting manuscripts are all done by the elite so to understand how the deciding elites regard the programs the USNWR ranking is not bad. Of course there could be other dimensions, like grad student opinions but those would probably not influence the actual outcomes after graduation.

Posted

I think hiring decisions and accepting manuscripts are all done by the elite so to understand how the deciding elites regard the programs the USNWR ranking is not bad. Of course there could be other dimensions, like grad student opinions but those would probably not influence the actual outcomes after graduation.

well said

Posted

I think hiring decisions and accepting manuscripts are all done by the elite so to understand how the deciding elites regard the programs the USNWR ranking is not bad. Of course there could be other dimensions, like grad student opinions but those would probably not influence the actual outcomes after graduation.

True, true.

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