Altmetrics
What are Altmetrics?
About Altmetrics
Where impact measures the amount of citations an article, chapter, or monograph receives, Altmetrics measures "Reach." Reach is defined by the visibility a scholarly article receives through contemporary and non-scholarly outlets like news mentions and social media mentions.
The Altmetric score is based on a calculation of media appearances. The chart below shows the amount of points each media appearance receives:
|
News mentions |
8 |
|
Blog |
5 |
|
Policy document (per source) |
3 |
|
Patent |
3 |
|
Wikipedia |
3 |
|
Peer review (Publons, Pubpeer) |
1 |
|
Weibo (not trackable since 2015, but historical data kept) |
1 |
|
Google+ (not trackable since 2019, but historical data kept) |
1 |
|
F1000 |
1 |
|
Syllabi (Open Syllabus) |
1 |
|
LinkedIn (not trackable since 2014, but historical data kept) |
0.5 |
|
Twitter (X) (tweets and retweets) |
0.255 |
|
Facebook (only a curated list of public Pages) |
0.25 |
|
|
0.25 |
|
Pinterest (not trackable since 2013, but historical data kept) |
0.25 |
|
Q&A (Stack Exchange) |
0.25 |
|
YouTube |
0.25 |
|
Number of Mendeley readers (Not scored but stats kept) |
0 |
|
Number of Dimensions and Web of Science citations (Not scored) |
0 |
How to Find Your Article's Altmetric Score
Altmetrics will contain scores for articles via their website (link below). There are numerous free tools that researchers can use. Additionally, each institution is allowed two free librarian "explorer" accounts. Please contact a librarian for support in finding your altmetric score.
- Altmetrics
Thousands of conversations about scholarly content happen online every day. Altmetric tracks a range of sources to capture and collate this activity, helping you to monitor and report on the attention surrounding the work you care about. - Altmetrics Free ToolsAltmetrics offers a range of free tools for researchers and institutions to help you get started.
Altmetrics Article Page: How to Read the Metrics
Below is a screenshot of the Altmetrics article page that includes the total Altmetrics score and the counts of the individual criteria (X, Facebook, News mentions, etc.)
the total score will appear in the top left of the screen and below it will appear the different categories and the totals for each. A map of where the mentions are coming from is also included. Additionally, each category has a tab that will list off the individual mentions. The Mendeley readers does not count towards the final score, but there is a map of where the users are located.
Clicking on each of the metrics measurements will list of the individual types of mentions will open a list of links to each of the mentions:
Altmetrics Tutorial Video
Are You Interested in Altmetrics?
Are you interested in using Altmetrics to create an impact narrative for your publications. Please contact Chris Hulsman, Electronic & Educational Resources Librarian. Altmetrics allows for a free librarian account for educational and research institutions. E. H. Butler Library's liaison is Chris Hulsman.
