Post on 15-Feb-2017
REAL-TIME RESEARCH IMPACT:ALTMETRICS 101Amanda Clay Powers, MSU LibrariesOctober 13, 2015
WHAT WILL WE DO?Find “Alternative” tools to assess your research impact
Tell a complete story of your research impactGet faster feedback on research
WHY MEASURE SCHOLARLY IMPACT?Promotion and TenureNational Reputation
Scholar Institution
Grant ApplicationsAssess and Adjust Research Agenda
TRADITIONAL METRICS Impact Factor
Journal Level (Journal Citation Reports) Easily Manipulated Limited to Web of Science Journals (Science and Social Sciences) Open Access / Feedback Loop / Favor Corporate Publishers
Citations Delayed feedback Dependent on discipline Niche research can be problematic
NEWER METRICS Author level
H-index G-Index
Article level Downloads Source Normalized Impact Per Paper (SNIP)
Journal levl Eigenfactor
COMPLIMENTARY METRICS Altmetrics Attention Metrics Article-level Metrics Scholar-Level Metrics Data Metrics Webometrics
IT’S ABOUT YOUR STORY Provide a more coherent understanding of research attention Understand the broader reach and early impact of research Track attention to a broad range of research outputs, including articles,
posters, data sets and working papers, etc. for funding agencies Wellcome Trust Research Excellence Framework
Help researchers get credit for impact activities
WHAT ARE ALTMETRICS? Research outputs in non-traditional sources How research is being received and used Complementary to traditional citation-based analysis
Journal Impact Factor
Citation countsH-index
Number of publications
Mentions in news reports,
References in policy
Mentions in social media, Wikipedia
citationsReference managers
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WHAT CAN YOU TRACK? Published journal articles White papers Posters Presentations Data Non-peer reviewed publications Books Technical reports Pre-Prints Videos
• Standards• Patents• Working papers• Committee reports• Newsletters• Government documents• Technical documentation• Conference proceedings• Symposia• Bulletins• Non-traditional outputs (DH)
Social media and blogs
• Twitter• Facebook• Google• Sina• Weibo
Reference managers
• Mendeley, CiteULike• Reader counts
Other sources
• Wikipedia • YouTube• Reddit• F1000• Pinterest
Post-publication peer review
• Publons• PubPeer
Policy documents
• NICE Evidence• Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
• Many more…
News outlets
• Curated lists• Text mining• Global coverage
TRACKING YOUR IMPACT Tools to track impact Institutional Repositories ResearchGate & Academia.edu Aggregators
Scopus Altmetric Bookmarklet PLoS ImpactStory
WHAT CAN THE DATA TELL YOU?
What type of attention is this research receiving?
Where has this article received the most traction?
Which countries are engaging most with the content?
Has this article influenced policy, spurred new research, or engaged a new audience?
Are reactions to this article positive or negative?
METRICS WON’T TELL YOU:Quality of the paper
Quality of the researchers
Whole story
UNCOVER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH
Set up email alerts for your output in the
Summary tab
Cochrane Library paper investigated use of probiotics to treat eczema: There is not enough evidence to recommend using probiotics for the treatment of eczema.
The paper has a relatively low score of attention but received mentions across policy documents and Wikipedia:
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health - Allergy Care Pathways for Children: core competency for health professionals treating children with eczema
DISCOVER POLICY REFERENCES
DISCOVER POPULAR NEW CONTENT
FINDING ALTMETRICS Scopus
“Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous exchange of mimicry adaptations among species”
“The genome of the green anole lizard and a comparative analysis with birds and mammals”
“Design and kinematic modeling of constant curvature continuum robots: A review”
Impact Story Altmetric / Altmetric Booklet PLoS metrics Journal / Publishers
STANDARDIZING Alternative Assessment Metrics Initiative (NISO) Becker Medical Library Model for Assessment of Research Impact (Becker
Model)
HOW TO GET ATTENTION Decide what you want – Policy influence? Mainstream media? Publish Open Access, if possible Tweet about it! Conferences, Hashtags, etc. Compare to other articles in your field – what attention are they getting
and where? Work on your online presence – what will they find? Get an ORCiD ID and/or a ResearchGate/Academia.edu account Share links to your research in your email signature Share your data, posters, working papers, etc. (figshare, Dryad, social
networks)
FURTHER READING Altmetrics Manifesto Altmetric, Social Media, and Impact The Evolution of Impact Indicators: From bibliometrics to altmetrics From bibliometrics to altmetrics: A changing scholarly landscape The History and Meaning of the Journal Impact Factor How to Track the Impact of Research With Data Metrics Impact and Attention: What Can the Metrics Tell Us ? The Impact Factor Game The Metric Tide: Report of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics
in Research Assessment and Management Three Simple Ways to Improve the Tenure Process in the United States The Thomson Reuters Impact Factor