  University rankings by fields are usually based on the research output of
universities. However, research managers and rankings consumers expect to see
in such fields a reflection of the structure of their own organizational
institution. In this study we address such misinterpretation by developing the
research profile of the organizational units of two Spanish universities:
University of Granada and Pompeu Fabra University. We use two classification
systems, the subject categories offered by Thomson Scientific which are
commonly used on bibliometric studies, and the 37 disciplines displayed by the
Spanish I-UGR Rankings which are constructed from an aggregation of the former.
We also describe in detail problems encountered when working with address data
from a top down approach and we show differences between universities
structures derived from the interdisciplinary organizational forms of new
managerialism at universities. We conclude by highlighting that rankings by
fields should clearly state the methodology for the construction of such
fields. We indicate that the construction of research profiles may be a good
solution for universities for finding out levels of discrepancy between
organizational units and subject fields.
