LSE UK Ranking vs. World Ranking

Does anyone know why LSE has such a high UK ranking but is ranked comparatively poorly in the world rankings?
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2013#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

Reply 1

username1044462

Original post by janroguska

To paraphrase lots of data I've seen around and the reason LSE cites:

These ranking systems heavily disadvantage specialist social science institutions like LSE. They really only use citations from peer-reviewed journals (whereas the social sciences make much more use of books, and other channels), which are primarily used in natural sciences, medicine, etc. LSE also suggests that their research output has also been greatly underestimated in recent years.

THE acknowledged that the methodology used in the ranking system is designed mainly to capture the excellence of multipurpose universities in the rich world. They also mention that they are seeking better ways of comparing the achievements of specialist and postgraduate institutions with those of full-spectrum universities.