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Methodology and Criteria for Interdisciplinary Research

THE ISR Framework — Applicable Disciplines at RAKMHSU

RAKMHSU's interdisciplinary research classification is aligned with the Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR 2026) methodology. Research is classified as interdisciplinary when it integrates two or more of the following core scientific disciplines:

Category Sub-disciplines relevant to RAKMHSU
Physical Sciences (Core) Chemistry, Physics, Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Mathematics & Statistics, foundational to pharmaceutical formulation, medical imaging, and drug delivery.
Life Sciences (Core) Biological Sciences, Immunology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Physiology, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Nutrition & Dietetics, directly aligned with RAKMHSU's research in disease mechanisms and therapeutics.
Engineering (Core) Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, enabling medical device innovation, diagnostics technology, and surgical robotics.
Computer Science (Core) Artificial Intelligence, Medical Informatics, Information Systems, Software Engineering, driving health informatics, clinical decision support, and AI-assisted diagnostics.
Clinical & Health (Extended) Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Oncology, Pharmacology, Radiology, Neurosciences, Public Health — RAKMHSU's primary domain, serving as the hub for all interdisciplinary connections.
Social Sciences (Extended) Public Health Policy, Health Behaviour, Sociology, Psychology, Education, Economics, enabling patient-centred research and health systems analysis.
Criteria for Classifying Research as Interdisciplinary

Research databases employ bibliometric data analysis and artificial intelligence to evaluate interdisciplinarity by assessing quantitative conditions and indicators. RAKMHSU applies the following criteria:

  1. 1. Multi-Subject Classification, Research classified under multiple scientific fields according to approved subject classifications (THE 11-subject or 31-subject breakdown) is considered interdisciplinary.
  2. 2. Citation Network Analysis, Research citing sources from different scientific fields is a strong indicator of interdisciplinarity, reflecting cross-disciplinary intellectual engagement.
  3. 3. Author and Institutional Collaboration, Evaluates whether authors come from different academic disciplines or institutions, assessing the breadth of collaborative interdisciplinary engagement.
  4. 4. Journal Classification and Scope, Research published in journals covering multiple disciplines, or in journals explicitly classified as interdisciplinary by Scopus or Web of Science, is recognised accordingly.
  5. 5. Keyword and Abstract Analysis, Textual analysis confirming the incorporation of terminology and methodologies from multiple disciplines within the research content.
  6. 6. Cross-Discipline Citation Impact (C-Score), Measures the extent to which a publication's citations originate from disciplines other than its primary field, reflecting the utility of the research beyond its home discipline.
  7. 7. Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), Assesses the quality of interdisciplinary publications relative to the global average for the field, as used in THE ISR 2026 quality metric.
Important Notes on ISR Classification

According to THE ISR 2026 methodology, research is only classified as interdisciplinary science research if it includes at least one of the four core scientific disciplines — Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering, or Computer Science — combined with another qualifying discipline. Research that involves only clinical/health disciplines, or that combines a science discipline with Arts, Humanities, Business, or Translational Medicine, does not qualify under the ISR framework. RAKMHSU's interdisciplinary research strategy accounts for this distinction to ensure research outputs contribute to ISR eligibility.