CRADLE is #1 contributor to global assessment research
20 June 2024
A recent performance analysis of the prominent international journal Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (AEHE) from 2012–2023 by Sun et al. was undertaken using citation data collected from Scopus. The article highlighted Australian researchers as the dominant global contributor, with CRADLE and Deakin University ranking at the top. CRADLE authors and our extensive network of global collaborators have a significant impact on AEHE articles, and hence higher education assessment research globally.
Highly Cited Authors
CRADLE Researchers featured across the top 15 most prolific authors. The most influential author in the world is CRADLE Co-Director Deakin Distinguished Professor David Boud. Meanwhile CRADLE Co-Director Professor Phill Dawson is the fourth most influential author.
Professor David Boud
Professor Phill Dawson
Several of the top 15 authors are associated with CRADLE:
- Paige Mahoney (CRADLE)
- Dr Edd Pitt (University of Kent and CRADLE Honorary Fellow)
- Professor Ernesto Panadero (Dublin City University and CRADLE Honorary Professor)
- Professor Yan Zi (The Education University of Hong Kong and CRADLE Honorary Professor)
Other authors in the top 15 are well known collaborators with the CRADLE team, including Professor Elizabeth Molloy (University of Melbourne), Professor David Carless (University of Hong Kong), and Professor Michael Henderson (Monash University),
Themes and Keywords
Feedback Literacy. Assessment.
Evaluative Judgement.
These three themes were highlighted in the article as the emerging trends in AEHE articles from 2012 to 2023. All three are areas where CRADLE is leading the way with our cutting edge research. Our current programs of research include:
| Academic security and academic integrity. | Assessment design (including self/peer, authentic and programmatic). |
| Feedback and feedback literacy. | Developing evaluative judgement. |
| Assessment in a digital world. | Digital identities. |
| Inclusion and belonging in a digital world. | Learning in, and for, work. |
| Representation in and beyond assessment. | Quality and standards. |
Top 5 Most-Cited Publications
The article ranked the top 20 articles from 2012 to 2023 by citations, and again CRADLE features significantly. Of the five most cited articles four are from CRADLE authors, illustrating our foundation role in shaping understanding of feedback and assessment.
| Rank | Article | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design (Boud & Molloy, 2013) | 763 |
| 2 | The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback (Carless & Boud, 2018) | 683 |
| 3 | Rethinking feedback practices in higher education: a peer review perspective (Nicol et al., 2014) | 513 |
| 4 | Sustainable assessment revisited (Boud & Soler, 2016) | 275 |
| 5 | What makes for effective feedback: staff and student perspectives (Dawson et al., 2019) | 208 |
Summary
The outcomes of the performance analysis indicate the presence of a cooperative network centred around CRADLE researchers and our work significantly influences AEHE’s scholarly impact. The impressive result reflects the dominance of Deakin University and CRADLE as the international leader in research on assessment in higher education. The analysis also identifies three of CRADLE’s research strengths, ‘evaluative judgement’, ‘feedback literacy’, and ‘assessment’, as the new frontiers for higher education research. We’d like to thank the authors for their valuable work in analysing the trends in assessment research.
References
Sun, W., Ding, Y., Wang, R., Liu, Y., Wang, Y., Zhu, B., & Liu, Q. (2024). Bibliometric analysis of Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education: 2012–2023. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2351602
