SDG Research: Evaluation Report

In this study, the accuracy of the Aurora SDG classification model version 5 is evaluated to match research papers to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. This investigation aims to be transparent about the model’s accuracy and enable the use of the model in reporting and strategy analysis by university leadership. The measurements are based on a baseline, ’golden set’, where researchers of the Aurora universities hand-picked publications related to an SDG. The precision and recall of the Aurora model were measured and related to the previous version of the model and to the Elsevier SDG model.

This resource is for university leaders, research managers and policy advisors who want to inform themselves about the quality of the keyword lists used to find research papers related to the 169 SDG Targets within the 17 SDG Goals.