Explaining the Paradox of World University Rankings in China: Higher Education Sustainability Analysis with Sentiment Analysis and LDA Topic Modeling

Yating Wen, Xiaodong Zhao (), Xingguo Li and Yuqi Zang
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Yating Wen: School of Public Administration, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
Xiaodong Zhao: School of Public Administration, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
Xingguo Li: Higher Education Development Research Center, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
Yuqi Zang: School of Public Administration, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: The development of the World University Rankings (WURs) has produced the following paradox. On the one hand, the WURs are often criticized for their ranking methodology and logic. On the other hand, the WURs are growing in influence worldwide. Universities are caught in a vicious cycle of pursuing indicators, which has a negative impact on the sustainability of higher education. In order to explain the development paradox of WURs, this research uses sentiment analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling to understand how the WURs thrive amid controversy by analyzing the emotion and cognition in 18,466 Chinese public comments on the WURs. The research found that (1) although the Chinese public has mixed feelings about the WURs, the overall sentiment is positive; (2) the Chinese public perceives the WURs through four main perspectives: standpoint cognition, dialectical cognition, interest cognition, and cultural cognition; and (3) the public is more concerned about whether their standpoints are met, whether their interests are reflected, and whether their individual experiences are verified but rarely think about the problems of ranking from a dialectical perspective. The need for ranking has always existed but the issue of ranking has often been ignored, leading to the development paradox of rankings.

Keywords: World University Rankings; development paradox; Chinese public; higher education; sentiment analysis; LDA topic modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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