Data Sources and Citation Metrics
The 5th edition of the Research.com Best Environmental Sciences Scientists in Reunion Ranking is primarily based on bibliometric data aggregated from leading scholarly databases, including OpenAlex and CrossRef, complemented by multiple additional data sources to ensure comprehensive coverage. The citation-based metrics informing this ranking were collected on January 12, 2026. Each scientist’s position within the ranking is determined by their D-index (Discipline H-index), a refined metric that incorporates only publications and citations relevant to the examined discipline, thereby providing a focused assessment of a researcher’s impact in Environmental Sciences.
Scope of the Ranking
The ranking process examined a total of 279,971 scientist profiles sourced from a diverse range of bibliometric repositories across all academic disciplines, with a cohort specifically filtered to include 1,276 scientists identified within Environmental Sciences. To qualify for inclusion, each candidate’s D-index needed to meet or exceed a threshold of 30. Furthermore, a majority of their tier publications were required to be situated in the Environmental Sciences domain, ensuring discipline-specific relevance. Additional consideration was given to notable awards and achievements pertinent to Environmental Sciences.
The D-index threshold is calibrated to increments of 10, relative to the estimated population size of scholars within each discipline, facilitating the inclusion of the top 1% of leading experts. Moreover, to guarantee disciplinary specificity, the ranking enforces a proximity condition whereby the difference between a scientist’s general H-index and their D-index must not exceed 30%.
Verification and Quality Assurance
Recognizing that raw bibliometric data alone does not fully encapsulate a scholar’s contributions, our team of researchers has undertaken meticulous manual verification of all scientist profiles. This manual validation included cross-correlation against publications indexed in a broad array of reputable and authoritative sources. While the ranking’s primary position determination relies on the D-index computed from data obtained via OpenAlex and CrossRef, we acknowledge that the number of publications in prominent journals and conference proceedings constitutes a valuable secondary indicator of a scientist’s influence in their field.
OpenAlex and CrossRef represent the most prominent and widely accepted bibliometric databases accessible to the research community, lending substantive credibility to the underlying data. For a comprehensive overview of the methods utilized in this ranking, please refer to our methodology page.
Research.com’s Mission
At Research.com, our mission is to encourage researchers, academic institutions, industry leaders, and policymakers worldwide to closely examine emerging trends and leadership within the scientific community. We aim to provide a transparent, reliable, and rigorously vetted resource that highlights who the leading experts are within specific scientific disciplines, countries, and research institutions. Through this ranking, we seek to foster collaboration, informed decision-making, and recognition of excellence across the global research landscape.
