Introduction of SDGs
SDGs, or Sustainable Development Goals, are a set of global goals adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs serve as a blueprint for achieving a more sustainable and equitable world by addressing various social, economic, and environmental challenges. There are 17 SDGs in total, each with specific targets to be achieved by 2030, including:
SDG 1: No poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13: Climate action, SDG 14: Life below water, SDG 15: Life on land, SDG 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions and SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
In this guide, we are going to take a look at EdUHK’s research that contributes to the SDGs using Scopus data. Please note that the data used in this review were extracted from Scopus on May 5, 2024.
EdUHK Research contributes to SDGs
EdUHK's research outputs mapped to SDGs can be easily found in Scopus. In addition, Times Higher Education (THE) is using Elsevier SDG data mapping as part of its Impact Rankings.
1) Number of SDGs Publications
Until May 5, 2024, there are 8148 EdUHK research publications related to SDGs. The top 5 SDGs with the highest number of publications are:
1. SDG 4: Quality education （23%）
2. SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals (18%)
3. SDG 3: Good health and well-being (10%)
4. SDG 14: Life below water (7%)
5. SDG 10: Reduced inequalities (6%)
2) SDGs Relative Activity Index (scholarly publications from 2013-2022): Global vs. HK vs. EdUHK
The SDGs Relative Activity Index (scholarly publications) is used to assess the research output of an institution relative to the global research output in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The specific calculation is shown as table below, we take SDG 4: Quality education as the example:
| SDG 4: Quality education (2013-2022) | All publications | Scholarly publications related to SDG 4 | Scholarly Publication Share (%) | Relative Activity Index |
| EdUHK | 7,301 | 1,124 | 15.4 | 15.4 / 1.19 = 12.94 |
| Hong Kong | 242,453 | 4,324 | 1.78 |
1.78 / 1.19 = 1.50 |
| Global | 34,003,673 | 403,835 | 1.19 | 1 |
This radar chart displays the relative activity index of scholarly publications of global, HK, and EdUHK across the various SDG fields (excluding SDG 17).
Compared with HK and Global, EdUHK has higher relative activity index scores in the following SDGs from 2013 to 2022:
Despite significant progress in various areas related to the SDGs, there are still a few specific SDGs where improvements are needed, such as SDG 2 Zero Hunger (0.31), SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being (0.42), SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy (0.54), SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (0.65) and SDG 15: Life on Land (0.99).
How to map research outputs to SDGs in Scopus
We have provided an overview of EdUHK's overall research on SDGs in Scopus. However, if you are interested in understanding how specific institutions or locations map their research outputs to the SDGs within specific periods, there are methodologies available.
Elsevier uses a set of search queries and machine language algorithms to map research outputs recorded in Scopus to 17 SDGs. You can refer to Elsevier 2023 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Mapping for all queries. You can add EdUHK's affiliation ID "60017919" for searching EdUHK's research publications to SDGs.
References:
Bedard-Vallee, Alexandre; James, Chris; Roberge, Guillaume (2023), “Elsevier 2023 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Mapping”, Elsevier Data Repository, V1, doi: 10.17632/y2zyy9vwzy.1