1.
Altmetrics: What They Are and How
They Can Be Used
Scholarly Communication Services (SCS)
By Kristy Padron, MLIS
SCS Coordinator and Associate University Librarian
kpadron@fau.edu
https://library.fau.edu/staff/kpadron
July 2020

2.
• Review bibliometrics
to place altmetrics
into context.
• Define altmetrics,
their purpose, and
use.
• Identify commonly
used altmetrics.
• Find altmetrics
Workshop Objectives
ALT
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

3.
Bibliometrics: A Short Intro
 Definition: the statistical analysis of
publications, books, or articles (Duberman &
Sieving, 2017).
bi-blē-ə-ˈme-triks
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

4.
Bibliometrics: A Short Intro
Initial Uses:
• Examine
scholarly
networks.
• (Scholars)
Identify relevant
sources.
• (Libraries) Select
journals and
works for
collections.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

5.
Bibliometrics: A Short Intro
Current Uses:
• Identify seminal
journals (for reading
or publication)
• Measure of
productivity and
influence
• Descriptive/
evaluative areas of
use:
• Researcher
productivity
• Bids for promotion
and tenure
• Grant funding
• Hiring
Image Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

6.
Types of Bibliometrics
Journal-Level
Article-Level
Author-Level
Altmetrics*
Image Credits: Conservation & Society, 2020.
http://www.conservationandsociety.org/currentissue.a
sp. Permission by CC BY-NC-SA.
Chiang-Hanisko, L., Newman, D., Dyess, S., Duangporn,
Pl, & Liehr, P. (2015). Guidance for using mixed
methods design in nursing practice research. Applied
Nursing Research, 31, 1-5. From ScienceDirect by
Elsevier.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2015.12.006.
Author profile, by K. Padron, 2020.

7.
 Definition: metrics and
descriptive data that can be
used in addition to traditional
bibliometric factors that
describe a work's impact.
 Keeps tabs on more than
journal articles: may include
blogs, data sets, posters, trade
journal articles, and book
chapters (among others).
 Goes beyond citation counts
and relies on web-based
activity or interactions.
(Tattersall, 2016).
Altmetrics: A Definition
ALT
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

8.
 Purposes:
• Provide an alternative
or complement to
traditional
bibliometrics.
• Research outputs have
become varied (there’s
more than published
journal articles), and
scholars wanted to also
take those into account
(Priem, Taraborelli,
Groth & Neylon, 2010).
Altmetrics: Purposes
ALT
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2020.

9.
 Use: Capture (web-based)
information about the
interest, discussion, or
interaction with the
artifact-level of a work.
 Specifics:
• Identify where and how
one’s work is being
discussed.
• Show evidence of your
publishing/ creative
activity and potential.
• Find collaborators.
• Marketing purposes.
Altmetrics: Uses
Image Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.

10.
 Data sources: compiled through web-
based interactions, activity, and
discussion:
• Media/ online coverage (news, blogs)
• Social media activities: shares, likes, or
mentions (Twitter, Facebook)
• Bookmarks, shares, or saves in online
reference managers (Mendeley)
• Number of views or likes (SlideShare)
• Recommendations in sites (FigShare)
• Notes, comments, or annotations in
post-peer review resources (F1000).
 Specific data sources also depend on
type of altmetric.
• Altmetric.com includes book reviews and
certain scholarly platforms (F1000).
• Plum Analytics (PlumX) has agreements
with certain publishers (Elsevier) and
platforms (SSRN).
Altmetrics: Data Sources
Images Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.

11.
Image Credit: Florida Atlantic University and Gisele Galoustian (2020,
April 23). FAU study finds being fun is no laughing matter [Web page].
http://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/being-fun-study.php
Example: “Being fun is
no laughing matter.”
• Study headed by an
FAU psychology
professor.
• Article published in
Journal of
Personality.
• Media Mentions:
• Psychology Today
• PsychCentral
• Science Daily
• Twitter

12.
Image Credit: Laursen, B., Altman, R.L., Bukowski, W.M. & Wei, L. (2020). Being fun: An overlooked indicator of childhood social status. Journal of
Personality, from Wiley Online Library. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12546.

13.
Image Credit:
Altmetric.com (2020,
June). Being fun: An
overlooked indicator of
childhood social status
[Web page].
https://wiley.altmetric.co
m/details/77446220

14.
*Subscription-Based: an individual or organization
account is required, though some free features may
be available.
• Plum Analytics (PlumX Metrics) by
Elsevier
• Altmetric by Digital Science
• Impactstory
Altmetric Products*
Image Source: Plum Analytics.
https://plumanalytics.com/
Image Credit: Altmetric,
https://www.altmetric.com
Image Credit: Impactstory,
https://www.impactstory.com

15.
Plum Analytics (PlumX Metrics) by Elsevier
 Web: https://plumanalytics.com/
 Subscription-based
 Artifact/ Article-level data
 Author-level data
 Metric categories:
• Citations: citation indexes, patent citations, clinical citations,
policy citations
• Usage: clicks, downloads, views, library holdings
• Captures: bookmarks, favorites, code forks, watchers
• Mentions: blog posts, reviews, Wikipedia references, news
sources
• Social media: tweets, comments, shares, and likes
Plum Analytics
Image Source: Plum Analytics.
https://plumanalytics.com/

16.
Plum Analytics Example
(Article-Level in PlumX Metrics)
Full details on article-level
information is available in
PlumX Metrics (subscription-
based).

17.
Plum Analytics Example
(Author-Level in PlumX Metrics)

18.
• Public policy documents
• News outlets (2,000+)
• Online reference managers (Mendeley, etc.)
• Post-publication peer-review platforms
• Wikipedia (in English-language)
• Open Syllabus Project
• Patents (IFFI Patent Claims)
• Blogs
• Citations (Dimensions citation data)
• Research highlights (F1000Prime)
• Social media
• Multimedia and other online platforms
(YouTube, Reddit)
• Author badges
Altmetric
Altmetric by Digital Science
 Web: https://www.altmetric.com
 Tracks outputs with an identifier (e.g., DOI)
and if is mentioned in their tracked data
sources.
 Focuses on artifact/ article-level data.
 Data Sources:
Image Credit: Altmetric,
https://www.altmetric.com

19.
Altmetric Attention Score
 Altmetric Attention
Score: a weighted count
of all the attention a
research output received
from sources (Altmetric,
n.d.).
• Graphically
represented by “The
Donut”
• Colors represent types
of data sources (media
mentions, tweets,
etc.).
• Based on the following:
• Volume of attention
• Sources (which are
weighted)
• Authors of mentions
(considers bias and
audience).
Image Credit: Altmetric,
https://www.altmetric.com

20.
Free Tools:
https://www.altmetric.
com/products/free-
tools/
 Badges for Individual
researchers: for personal
website or online CV.
 Badges lead to detailed
Altmetric page for a
given work (next page).
Altmetric: Free Tools
Image source: Altmetric bookmarklet,
https://www.altmetric.com/products/free-tools/bookmarklet/
Image Source: John S. Fossey Research Group,
http://www.johnfossey.com/publications/index.php

21.
Image Source: Derivatisation of Parthenolide to Address Chemoresistant Chronic Lymphoctic Leukaemia, by
Altmetric, https://www.altmetric.com/details/54622565
Detailed
Altmetric
Page

22.
 Altmetric Bookmarklet
(for individual works):
shows Altmetric data for
any published research
output with a DOI.
Altmetric: Free Tools
Image source: Altmetric bookmarklet,
https://www.altmetric.com/products/free-tools/bookmarklet/

23.
Impactstory
Impactstory by OurResearch.Org
 Web:
https://www.impactstory.com/
 Subscription-based (free, create an
account)
 Author-level profile with data on
their works
 Data sources:
• ORCID (author and their publication
data)
• Twitter
Image Credit: Impactstory,
https://www.impactstory.com

24.
Image source: Impactstory (2020, June). Ethan White Impactstory profile [Web page].
https://profiles.impactstory.org/u/0000-0001-6728-7745

25.
Altmetrics can also be gleaned
through hand searching:
 Journal pages (for where articles
were published)
 Institutional repositories:
downloads, views
 WorldCat: library holdings
Other Altmetric Sources
Image Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.

26.
Image Credit: Mounce, R. (2013). Open access and altmetrics: Distinct but complementary. asis&t: Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology, 39(4): 14-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/bult.2013.1720390406. From Wiley Online Library.
Journal Article

27.
Image sources: by CUNY AcademicWorks (2020), by bePress. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/
Institutional
Repository

28.
WorldCat Book RecordImage source: WorldCat (2020), by OCLC https://www.worldcat.org

29.
 Search sites for counts or
mentions: GoodReads,
LibraryThing, Wikipedia, etc.
 Google searching
 Amazon.com
Other Altmetric Sources
Image Credit: Pixabay.com.
Permission by CC0.

30.
…the types of artifacts that
you and your colleagues
produce (data sets, journal
articles, books, conference
papers, etc.).
…your discipline norms for
evaluating productivity and
impact or influence.
Which altmetric is most useful?
Some considerations…
…the ways your scholarship, research, or creative works are
typically communicated.
…the type of information or figures that most meaningfully
communicate your work and its impact.
…the availability of altmetrics for your work.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com. Permission by CC0.

31.
More Information
 Altmetrics LibGuide
https://bit.ly/scs-altmetrics
 Scholarly
Communication Services
Home
https://bit.ly/scs-fau
• Topics and information
• Request SCS Services:
consultations,
presentations (class and
groups)
Image Credit: Pixabay.com. Permission by CC0.

32.
Quiz and Feedback
 Quiz:
https://bit.ly/scs-quiz2
 Give your
feedback!
https://bit.ly/scs-campus
Image Credit: Pixabay.com. Permission by CC0.

33.
Image Credit: by K. Padron, 2016.

34.
Works Cited
Altmetric (n.d.). The donut and Altmetric Attention Score [Web Page].
https://www.altmetric.com/about-our-data/the-donut-and-score
Duberman, J.A., & Sieving, P.C. (2017). Information resources for the clinical researcher. In Gallin,
J.I., Ogibene, F.P., & Johnson, L.L., Principles and practice of clinical research (4th Ed.).
Academic Press.
Priem, J., Taraborelli, D., Groth, P., & Neylon, C. (2010). Altmetrics: A manifesto [Web Page].
http://altmetrics.org/manifesto
Tattersall, A. (2016). Altmetrics: A practical guide for librarians, researchers and academics. Facet.

35.
Altmetrics: What They Are and How
They Can Be Used
Scholarly Communication Services (SCS)
By Kristy Padron, MLIS
SCS Coordinator and Associate University Librarian
kpadron@fau.edu
https://library.fau.edu/staff/kpadron
July 2020