JCPSP | Journal of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan

peter.suber's bookmarks 2022-11-15

Summary:

"The movement for using alternative metrics started in 2010 with the burgeoning rise in online scholarly literature, in particular, as the existing metrics were either insufficient or biased. The manifesto of Altmetrics starts with “No one can read everything”.8 Altmetrics typically focus on the article rather than on the journal and the same procedures are used to evaluate authors, institutions, publishers, countries, and other entities. Altmetrics are now commonly available (Altmetric.com, Plum Analytics, PLOS Metrics, ImpactStory) and are being utilised by several publishers and displayed on websites of scientific journals. The main advantage of altmetrics is that they are immediate, since usage and interest can be measured from the time of first publication, which is now often online. They cover usage and sharing among the general public as well as scholars. Most publishers and journals have adopted altmetrics. According to one estimate, over 10,000 journals are now using altmetrics. As for other metrics, the source of the data and the calculation need to be considered for meaningful use of these metrics.9

Like other metrics, altmetrics are also not completely protected from the manipulation and gimmickry of statistics. Social media have the potential to amplify small signals. Similarly, the mass tweets, likes or mentions can be purchased or programmed easily. The value of a mention can be vague; mentioners may be unidentified or concealed behind an alias, and massively mentioned articles often feature odd titles or other features that may not possess true academic merit. The majority of mentions may be associated with very few articles and follow the familiar, tilted, Bradford-type distribution form. Altmetrics tend to favour more recent research compared to citation counts. These do not necessarily correlate with scholarly quality. Altmetrics are not a replacement, but rather complement the traditional methods of determining the impact of research. Altmetrics help expands our view of research attention and engagement. 9-11

In summary, in order to get a holistic picture of the scholarly impact, multiple forms of metrics--both traditional and alternative--should be used. Although altmetrics are in their infancy and many questions remain unanswered, it is worth investing in this novel initiative given the limitations of traditional metrics and the quick progress of scholarly communication. The sheer speed, depth, and breadth of altmetrics merit widespread validation and standardization studies to prove their full scientific impact."

Link:

https://www.jcpsp.pk/article-detail/pbeyond-the-citation-counts-an-insight-into-altmetricsorp

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » peter.suber's bookmarks

Tags:

oa.new oa.metrics oa.altmetrics oa.citations oa.impact oa.jif oa.social_media

Date tagged:

11/15/2022, 13:46

Date published:

11/15/2022, 08:46