Research at Honduran Universities: elements of innovation to improve its sector strategy

Abstract

Introduction: The ranking agencies measure the universities using indicators. The study aim was to analyze Honduran universities and suggest elements to improve their strategy and position, based on indicators used by Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR). Methods: The 2011-2020 SIR Iber reports were studied in four contexts: Iberoamerican, Latin American, Central American and country. Changes in methodology and indicator incidence in their positioning were also studied, as well as, the academic-research administrative structure, based on the institution website. Results: The universities ranked increased from 7 in 2011 to 11 since 2019. Indicators that should be priority for strategies were: article publication in journals indexed in Scopus, association with researchers from foreign universities, first authorships, publications in open access journals, leadership in patents, as well as visibility in web pages. Conclusion: In Central America, Honduran universities improved significantly, with UNAH in the top ten and EAP and UNITEC in the top twenty. In order to further improve their position, it is recommended to adjust strategies to improve indicators used by SIR, especially, those with the highest weight to have a significant impact. Due to the emergence of social web tools, it is important to follow those metrics used to estimate the impact and dissemination of research.