Operations Research

Top Research Topics at Operations Research?

Operations Research facilitates discussions on Mathematical optimization, Operations research, Algorithm, Queue and Linear programming. The concepts on Mathematical optimization presented in the journal can also apply to other research fields, including Scheduling (computing) and Set (abstract data type). In addition to Operations research research, the journal aims to explore topics under Letter to the editor and Operations management.

The research on Queue tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Real-time computing, Queueing theory and Service (business).

• Mathematical optimization (40.38%)
• Operations research (17.68%)
• Algorithm (9.37%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• An Effective Heuristic Algorithm for the Traveling-Salesman Problem (3083 citations)
• Scheduling of Vehicles from a Central Depot to a Number of Delivery Points (2934 citations)
• Algorithms for the vehicle routing and scheduling problems with time window constraints (2872 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Operations Research:

The main points discussed in the journal articles deal with Mathematical optimization, Operations research, Algorithm, Linear programming and Integer programming. The published articles are mostly focused on Mathematical optimization, specifically Dynamic programming. In addition to Queue research, the published papers aim to explore topics under Queueing theory and Service (business).

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• World War II
• Statistics
• Law

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The primary areas of discussion in the journal are Mathematical optimization, Operations research, Econometrics, Stochastic modelling and Technical note. Discussions in the journal are anchored in the subject of Mathematical optimization and the similar topic of Simple (abstract algebra). While Operations research is the focus of Operations Research, it also provided insights into the studies of Queue, Queueing theory and Service (business).

Stochastic modelling research presented in it encompasses a variety of subjects, including Machine learning and Artificial intelligence.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Dynamic Incentive-Aware Learning: Robust Pricing in Contextual Auctions (11 citations)
• Nonconvex Low-Rank Tensor Completion from Noisy Data (9 citations)
• Online Allocation and Pricing: Constant Regret via Bellman Inequalities (8 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Operations Research (based on the number of publications) are:

• Dimitris Bertsimas (55 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• Awi Federgruen (44 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Ward Whitt (38 papers) absent at the last edition,
• David Simchi-Levi (34 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Paul Zipkin (26 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Operations Research (based on the number of publications) are:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (263 papers) published 12 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
• Columbia University (241 papers) published 15 papers at the last edition, 7 more than at the previous edition,
• Stanford University (206 papers) published 11 papers at the last edition, 6 more than at the previous edition,
• University of California, Berkeley (133 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
• Northwestern University (123 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 6.85% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 38.24% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 14.71% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 16.91% of all publications and 30.15% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.