Two business and information technology professors at Missouri S&T are among the world’s most productive management information system (MIS) researchers, according to a 2019 study by the University of Arizona.

The study assesses researchers based on their “h-index,” a metric designed to measure the productivity and impact of a scholar’s publications. By definition, a scholar with an index of “h” has published “h” papers, each of which has been cited by others at least “h” times — and the index is used for comparing scholars in the same field.

“It gets harder and harder to increase the index as the number of your papers gets higher,” says Dr. Keng Siau, chair and professor of business and information technology at Missouri S&T.

Siau received an h-index score of 52, ranking him in the top 60 global management information system researchers. Dr. Fiona Nah, a professor in the same department, received an h-index score of 35, ranking her in the top 160. The study ranked a total of 186 scholars with an h-index of at least 25, which accounts for only 4% of the Association of Information Science’s (AIS) 2017 membership of 4,329. 

The Arizona study relied on citations from Google Scholar and compiled its original list of MIS scholars from sources including AIS fellows and award-winning scholars, past and recent conference and program chairs from the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), and associate editors of major MIS journals.

“As recognized information system scholars, Drs. Siau and Nah continue to strengthen the business and information technology programs at Missouri S&T,” says Dr. Stephen Roberts, vice provost and dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. “Our students are reaping the benefits by learning from the new curricula they’ve designed around artificial intelligence, machine learning, human-computer interaction and user experience. Our graduates and certificate holders take this knowledge directly into the workforce.”

Siau has written over 300 academic publications and, according to Google Scholar, has nearly 11,000 citation counts. He is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Database Management and served as North America regional editor for Requirements Engineering journal from 2010–2016.

Nah was recently named editor-in-chief of the international peer-reviewed journal AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction. She is a co-founder of AIS’s Special Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction (SIGHCI) and now serves on its advisory board and as an associate editor for the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Information and Management journal, Journal of Global Information Management and Journal of Electronic Commerce Research.

All Missouri S&T’s business and information technology programs are accredited by AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools. Less than 5% of the more than 16,000 schools worldwide granting business degrees have earned this designation.

Missouri S&T has received notable rankings for its business and information technology programs including:

— No. 1 ranking for best online MBA in Missouri (Online MBA Report, 2019)

— No. 1 ranking for best MBA with certificate in information systems project management in Missouri (OnlineMBAPage, 2018)

— No. 1 ranking for highest proportion of women among ranked full-time MBA programs (U.S. News & World Report, 2017)

— No. 1 ranking for lowest MBA average debt at graduation (U.S. News & World Report, 2016)

— No. 2 ranking for best online master’s in information systems and technology programs (Online Masters, 2019)

— No. 2 ranking for best big data degrees (College Choice, 2018)

— No. 2 ranking for best MBA salary-to-debt ratio (U.S. News & World Report, 2017)

— No. 13 ranking for best online graduate business programs at public institutions (U.S. News & World Report, 2019)

— No. 30 ranking for best online MBA programs (public institutions) (U.S. News & World Report, 2019)