Research at The World 100
Research focusing on international reputation is one of the main objectives for the World 100 Reputation Network. Research informs practice, explains budgetary decisions, progresses strategy, and enables reputation managers to excel in their jobs. That is why our research projects are much valued by members and are at the heart of what we do.
Reputation is fast-moving, and universities are constantly forced to evaluate their actions, friends, and audiences. The Network engages in at least one annual research project that pushes forward the boundaries of knowledge around reputation and helps those in charge of their university’s image to understand it, and better amplify it.
Members have full access to all previous research for the 2020/2021 membership year.
World 100 Research Projects
Over the years our research has investigated a range of topics related to reputation and higher education, including what factors contribute to university choice for PhD students; the relationship between changes in rankings and reputation as a whole; approaches to online communications at top global universities; Structures, strategies, and resources for reputational advancement and much more!
As well as the annual research project, the World 100 also conducts research into topical issues affecting Higher Education throughout the year. For example, in 2020 we researched the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on how universities throughout the world were communicating.
To find out more about our research projects visit our research library. Alternatively, we’ve selected a few key stats that we have discovered over the years below:

Of International PhD Students chose their university based on the attractiveness of the country
Of Australians prefer the Shanghai Ranking (now Academic Ranking of World Universities)
Of universities seek an international partnership with a similar ranking university to themselves
Of universities saw their communications budget restricted at the start of the pandemic
"You can't find that research in other places and so the projects that have been done over the past few years and the ones that are coming up, we do get some really valuable information that I can then share with colleagues in different parts of the university to help them with their work."
Andrea Farquhar, McMaster University
Reputation Tracking

National Tracker
The World 100 National Tracker tracks the reputation of UK universities. The tracker allows all the universities to be measured against one another on key drivers of reputation. Separate surveys are conducted with critical audiences, such as businesses, staff, students, prospects, opinion formers, agents, parents, teachers etc.
Directors can use the report data to brief their own teams or senior management and have a genuine understanding of how their reputation compares with close competitors across critical audiences.
International Tracker
Stemming from the UK Tracker’s success, we have also introduced the World 100 International Reputation Tracker – a reputation tracking tool surveying key stakeholder audiences, allowing World 100 members to benchmark themselves against each other.
The International Reputation Tracker pilot carried out during 2019/20 included five audiences for primary research (current students, staff, alumni, international agents and prospective international students) and a range of secondary metrics.

World 100 Research Snapshot
Structures and Resources 2020
The World 100 is undertaking a survey to uncover what is being spent on reputation, and how the activities are structured.This will be the third installment of this survey to help us analyze change over time.
Taking the Temperature of COVID-19
In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we launched our longitudinal survey which asked W100 members and other world-leading universities 10 questions to monitor how they are feeling about the crisis, which area is most heated, and how their response is changing.
International Tracker
The W100 International Tracker pilot is the member research project for 2019/2020. It stems from the success of the UK tracker and will allow us to draw the same insights but on a global scale. By running the research as a pilot we can go on to make improvements to make the data more robust.
Riding the Tiger: Enhancing the Role of Reputation in International Partnerships
In 2018/2019 we examined the role that reputation plays in international partnerships. Members were asked about their institution's partnerships and what factors they considered when selecting partnership institutions and what systems they had in place for managing them.
Brand Snapshot
Our 2017/18 research project reviewed the online brand profile of the best universities in the world - the top 50 in the world in all four main global rankings, plus W100 members and nominated peers. Each university was assessed by two independent analysts on key brand attributes between January and June 2018.
The R-Word: Communicating research at world-class universities
Strategies for impactful research communications was the focus of our 2015/16 W100 research project. Excellent universities are defined by excellent research, and one of the main skills of those who direct reputation is to make this research accessible, and as widely read as possible.
Latest Content
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,Research Communications,News & Blog,Event,Strategy and vision
Rebuilding Public Trust in Universities: Trust in Sources of Information
20 April 2021
Part 2 of our summary of Louise's session at THE Live US, looking a rebuilding public…
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,Research Communications,News & Blog,Event,Strategy and vision
Rebuilding Public Trust in Universities: THE Live US
1 April 2021
On April 1st, World 100 Director Louise Simpson, hosted a panel of experts at THE Live…
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,Digital Communications,News & Blog,Event
Keio University host their second MEXT symposium
17 March 2021
Keio University is pleased to announce that it will host the second MEXT Japan-EU…
Resource Type,Social Media,Media Monitoring,Webinar,Event,Member Content
SMART Webinar: Social Media Analysis for Universities
19 February 2021
Following the launch of the World 100 SMART Tool, we are hosting a webinar to help you…
Topic,Resource Type,Social Media,Digital Communications,Media Monitoring,News & Blog
3 key pain points for social media managers and how to alleviate them
9 February 2021
Social media is one of the most important aspects of a marketing and communications…
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,Internal Communications,News & Blog,Crisis communications,Student Recruitment,Stakeholder Communications,Reputation Matters,Trackers
How does political change impact country reputation?
26 January 2021
The advent of a new administration in Washington DC is reportedly already fuelling an…
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,News & Blog,Reputation Matters
Helping students feel at home for the holidays
26 January 2021
As a university of more than 70% international students, RCSI University of Medicine and…
Topic,Resource Type,Brand,News & Blog
Extending our Global Reach
15 December 2020
The Knowledge Partnership, the founder of W100, was acquired by THE in December
Topic,Resource Type,Member Highlights,News & Blog
Glasgow leads THE Award W100 winners for ‘tackling the biggest issues facing the world’
27 November 2020
World 100 member, University of Glasgow win University of the Year at the 16th Annual…
Topic,Resource Type,Covid,Reputation,Member Highlights,Digital Communications,News & Blog,Event,Student Recruitment
Keio University host Experience Japan Exhibition 2020 Online
18 November 2020
Keio University will hold the “Experience Japan Exhibition 2020 Online” on Saturday,…
Become a Member
The World 100 Reputation Network is a group of the best universities in the world, delivering research that enhances reputation and offering leaders the chance to develop their own careers on a global stage. Members benefit from events and study tours, training, monthly media monitoring, and unique reputation research to provide institutional advantage.