This guide will help you understand and navigate the different types of Benchmark Reports available in the QS Rankings Datasets. Learn how to interpret report components, customise your Benchmark Report, and get the most from your data analysis.
1. Types of Benchmark Reports
There are three primary types of Benchmark Reports you can use:
Universities: Compare individual universities side-by-side
Peer Lists: Compare an institution against multiple lists of peers.
Regions: Assess an institution’s performance against multiple regional lists of peers.
2. Navigating the University Benchmark Report
Each charts presents a Time series with the evolution of the analysed Values during the Benchmark period.
When using the Benchmark Reports, you will see a range of visual information:
Main Elements
Element | Universities Report | Peer Lists Or Regions Report |
Columns | Each column represents an institution | Each column represents a Peer list or a Region |
Darker Colour Line | Shows the data for the specific institution in the column header (different institution in each column) | Shows the data for the specific Focus institution selected in the dropdown (same institution in every chart) |
Other lines and shaded area | Key statistical values for the Benchmark peers selected in the dropdown (same Benchmark Peers in each chart) | Key statistical values for the Peer List or Region from the column header (different list in each column) |
Statistical Values Displayed
The other lines and the shaded area represent key statistical values in the reference peer list
Maximum: Highest value in the dataset.
Median: Middle value in the dataset.
Minimum: Lowest value in the dataset.
Interquartile Range: Presented as a shaded area, representing the range between the 25th and 75th percentiles.
3. Customizing Data Display
You can adjust how the data is shown for your benchmarking needs:
Value Type: Toggle between:
Ranks
Percentiles
Scores
Benchmark Controls
Benchmark Peers: Select which lists to display.
Benchmark Period: Choose the years to analyse.
Focus Institution: Select which university to highlight
Order by: Change the order of columns by:
Overall score (ascending/descending)
Sub-indicators and specific metrics
4. Using the Zoom Function
The Zoom button helps refine your view:
Zoom Status | View Description |
Zoom Off | Displays the entire data range available (e.g., 0 to 1500 in World University Rankings) |
Zoom On | Shows only the relevant range for your current analysis and makes year on year changes easier to observe |
Tip: Always check the vertical axis scales when comparing different indicators, as the numerical range may change between metrics.
5. Focusing on Specific Institutions
Pin Institutions: If you want to keep particular institutions or peers in view, “pin” them. Pinned institutions will remain next to your focused institution as you scroll.