Getting Started with Altmetrics: A Researcher’s Guide

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For more tips on how you can start using altmetrics check out:

The Evolution of Impact Indicators: From bibliomentrics to altmetrics

www.scholasticahq.com/altmetrics-the-evolution-of-impact-indicators

1.What are altmetrics?

Digging into altmetrics data

“Altmetrics expand our view of what impact looks like, but also of what’s

making the impact. This matters because expressions of scholarship

are becoming more diverse.

altmetrics: a manifesto

Almetrics: Altmetrics capture the online engagement relating to individual research outputs, enabling users to understand how scholarship is being found, shared, and discussed.

Examples of altmetrics include:

▷ References to research in news and other online outlets

▷ Shares of research on social media

▷ Use of research in public policy

▷ Research mentions in post-publication peer review forums

Altmetrics show attentionHow research is being found, shared, and used in and outside of academia

Early indicators

Altmetrics show early signs of potential research impacts long before citations, which can take months or years to accrue.

Altmetrics complement traditional bibliometric citations

Real-time insights

The engagement captured by altmetrics is tracked as it occurs — authors don’t have to wait for a score to be released, like for the Impact Factor.

What altmetrics are not: Altmetrics are not indicative of research quality. As with bibliometric indicators, the cause of a lot of attention can sometimes be linked to article endorsements or references to errors.

2.Why should I care?

Who’s talking about your research?

Altmetrics show who’s talking about your research, and what they’re sayingBe quickly alerted to any misinterpretation or misuse of your research, and have the opportunity to respond directly to the source

Funding and job applications

Showcasing altmetrics insights alongside citation counts, face to face interviews, economic measures or other examples of engagement and broader impacts can highlight the full picture of your research.

Using altmetrics to take the next step in your career

Build your reputationSee who is talking about your work and what they’re saying - make sure they’re not misinterpreting or misrepresenting results. Grow your professional network by engaging with others discussing work in your field online.

Feedback on the results of your outreach

Altmetrics provide real-time and immediate feedback on the amount of attention your work has received, making it easy to monitor the effects of any promotional activity.

Uncover new research and future collaborators

‘Being able to see who is taking an active interest in research in any given field can also be a useful channel for identifying potential new collaborators, or new communities to engage with.’

Make informed publishing decisions Identify journals that are effective at making your research visible and that engage with their audiences. Many publishers are happy to help amplify your own outreach efforts.

3.How do I get started?

And what tools should I use?

Install the free Altmetric bookmarklet in your browser to see a summary of the online attention of any article with a unique identifier.

Many publishers embed the Altmetric badge - sometimes on a ‘metrics’ tab. Click on the badge to view all of the attention.

Dig into the data!

1. Identify who’s talking about your work and that of peers.

2. Think about the aims of your work: Who do you want to see it, what would the ideal outcome be?

3. Look for ways to engage Using social media, blogs, websites and much more.

Put it into context Remember altmetrics are more than just numbers! They don’t tell the whole story. You may need to look further into the data to understand where and why something is receiving attention.

Any questions?

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