OSU emeritus professor among most cited social scientists worldwide

Friday, June 17, 2022

Media Contact: Harrison Hill | Senior Research Communications Specialist | 405-744-5827 | harrison.c.hill@okstate.edu

Dr. Riley Dunlap, an Oklahoma State University regents professor of sociology and dresser professor emeritus, was recently named one of the top researchers globally in social sciences and humanities based on citations to his publications.

Dunlap was ranked 124th nationally and 251st worldwide in this broad area according to Research.com, an online scientific ranking company. The company publishes lists of the top researchers in a wide range of areas each year based on their citations in scholarly journals.  

This year marks the first edition of their ranking for top scientists in the area of social science and humanities and includes 5654 scholars internationally who meet the criteria for inclusion.  To be considered, a scholar has to have 30 articles that have been cited at least 30 times.

According to the organization, these rankings intend to create more visibility and exposure to influential research contributions made by leading scholars in their fields.

"We hope (the ranking) will inspire researchers, decision-makers and entrepreneurs around the world to find out where the leading experts are heading," wrote Imed Bouchrika, chief data scientist for Research.com, in a press release. "It is a great opportunity for all of us to learn who are the leading experts in different research areas, in different countries, as well as within different universities and research institutions."

Dunlap’s research over the decades has focused largely on the socio-political dimensions of environmental issues, including studies of public attitudes and opinion, policy-making, political polarization, and environmentalism and its opposition.

Dunlap has also received recognition as a highly cited researcher in 2019 and 2021 through another organization, Clarivate.