Altmetrics – revealing the societal impact of research
In recent years, new target groups and other ways of reaching old audiences have become increasingly important to scientists. Altmetrics were developed as a supplement to classic bibliometrics to measure the impact of research beyond the strictly scientific sphere.
On this page you will find a brief introduction of altmetrics and also some tips on how to improve your altmetric impact.
How altmetrics work
Altmetrics – short for alternative metrics – provide a more holistic view of how research is being utilized and discussed across various platforms and by diverse audiences, including social media, news outlets, policy documents, blogs, and more. This broader scope allows researchers to understand the societal impact of their work in real-time, capturing the nuances of public engagement that traditional metrics often overlook.
Unlike citation counts, which primarily reflect a research paper's influence within the scientific community, altmetrics aim to capture the impact of research on various aspects of society, including education, culture, economy, and policy.
Altmetrics collect and analyse online traces and mentions of research articles across various platforms and media. These traces include online interactions like:
- Mentions, shares, and likes on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Usage metrics like clicks, views, downloads, and video streams.
- Citations in indexes, patents, clinical guidelines, and policy documents.
- Mentions in blog posts, news articles, comments on webpages, reviews, and Wikipedia entries.
- Captures such as bookmarks, favourites, and saves in reference management tools like Mendeley and Zotero.
Providers of altmetrics
The main providers of altmetric data are Altmetric (Digital Science Company) and Plum X Metrics (Elsevier). Both offer comprehensive data, but Plum X Metrics includes additional data on clinical citations, particularly useful for medical research, tracking mentions in clinical guidelines from databases like PubMed, DynaMed, and NICE Guidelines.
PLOS (Public Library of Science) also provides altmetric data directly on their journal websites, including saves, views, shares, and downloads. In addition to PLOS’s own figures, metrics on social media impact from Altmetric.com are also included.
At Karolinska Institutet, KI RIMS (Research Information Management System) provides altmetric scores extracted from the Dimensions database on the publications that are visible on researchers’ profiles in the system (not on ki.se).
To track altmetric scores for any other publication that is not included in KI RIMS, it is possible to use a free tool called Altmetric Bookmarklet. You just need to download the tool, bookmark it and when you are on an article page, you can get its almetric mentions through clicking the Altmetric Bookmarklet button in your bookmark list.
Moreover, KI has a subscription to a clinical impact database provided by Minso company. The database aims to offer insights and facilitate the exploration of research impacts on clinical practice by analysing citations in clinical guidelines and related documents for healthcare decision-making. The database has a wide coverage and includes several Swedish sources.
Introductory film on altmetrics
Why altmetric tools are useful
The societal impact of research refers to the broad, real-world effects that scientific discoveries and advancements have on society. This includes the influence on healthcare, public policy, education, environmental practices, and overall public awareness.
Research that reaches beyond academic circles can drive innovation and contribute to cultural and societal progress. Altmetrics offer researchers a useful tool to implement evidence-based knowledge and to push society in the right direction by for example:
- Broadening audience reach. By tracking mentions and discussions on social media, news websites, and other online platforms, altmetrics can help researchers identify and reach new audiences.
- Real-time feedback. Researchers receive immediate feedback on how their work is being received and utilized, allowing them to adjust their communication strategies to maximize impact. A high altmetric score confirms that you are doing something right in terms of the societal impact of your research.
- Highlighting engagement. Altmetrics highlight how research is being discussed and applied in real-world contexts, showcasing its relevance to current societal issues.
- Informing policy and practice. By tracking citations in policy documents and clinical guidelines, altmetrics demonstrate how research influences policy-making and clinical practices.
- Encouraging open science. Altmetrics support the principles of open science by showing the benefits of making research findings accessible to the public, thereby fostering greater transparency and collaboration.
Tips to improve your altmetric score
Here are some tips on how you can achieve higher altmetric scores – and thereby improve the societal impact of your research. On the KI Comms Office’s pages about communication tools and support, you will find more advice.
Make your work searchable and shareable
Ensure that the different search engines used in altmetrics pick up digital citations of your scientific work. You can do this by linking to a page where the work’s unique ID, such as DOI, PMID or ISBN, is specified. For this to work, the link must be directly in the body of the text, for example in a blog post, tweet or article reference on a web page.
Consider the possibility of allowing open access to your scientific articles. Open access enables rapid dissemination of research findings, which can speed up the pace of scientific discovery and innovation. Also, if people can read the whole articles, the chances are greater that they will comment on and share them with others on the web. The library at KI provides access to an Open Access/APC Checker Tool for researchers to search for a specific journal to see if it is included in an open access agreement with prepaid APCs.
More about open access on the KI Library website
KI also offers great opportunities for researchers to present their research online through profile pages and group pages. Since ki.se is a very large website, it achieves high visibility in search engine rankings, which helps spread the information to a large audience. As a researcher, you can manage your profile page yourself via KI RIMS. Research group leaders and unit managers can, with the support of the web editor at their institution, also present their research on a group page and partially manage the information via KI RIMS.
More about profile page on ki.se
More about group page via KI RIMS
Engage on social media
Share your research findings on your personal accounts on social media platforms like X (former Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook. Show engagement by responding to comments and participating in discussions. Social media favours dialogue and real social relationships over organisational accounts and “push information”. Write briefly and engagingly so that the audience you want to reach can understand and relate. Make a “pact” with your colleagues and talk about each other’s research to reach a larger audience or create an opinion on a specific issue.
If you want to take it a step further than what is possible on, for example, LinkedIn or Facebook, a blog might be an option. However, keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to gain followers and maintain a blog. Also note that KI has rules on how to use social media at work.
There are many websites on how to start a blog, here are a couple:
Nature: Why science blogging still matters
Use different news and media outlets
Good relationships with journalists and media that report on your research area are a great way to reach both decision-makers, professionals and the public. At KI, the Comms Office works, among other things, with sending press releases and publishing news on ki.se. However, as a researcher, you can of course contact journalists who you think are doing a good job and who might be interested in your research.
Avoid sharing your tips too widely. Journalists like to get exclusive tips on exciting news. Also remember that many science blogs function as news disseminators. Guidelines and tips for media contacts at KI can be found on the Staff portal. Ask KI’s press officers if you are unsure.
An alternative to contacting journalists or bloggers is to write the news article yourself. The Conversation is an international news site that covers research in various fields. Unlike regular news media, however, it is the researchers themselves who write the popular science articles. As a member organisation of The Conversation, KI offers extra support for our researchers to publish in this forum.
More about writing for The Conversation
Participate in public events
Popular science lectures, webinars, and fairs are a great way to reach a diverse audience, such as decision-makers, industry professionals, teachers, students, and the general public. Public events also typically leave digital, measurable traces such as advertisements, comments, and video content on social media. One way for you as a researcher to save time and effort is to register for events organised by others, rather than handling the venue, program, and marketing yourself.
In Sweden, the association Publice & Science (Vetenskap & Allmänhet) organises various types of activities for the public. Museums and patient organisations can also offer opportunities to reach out. If you want to reach Swedish politicians and decision-makers, the annual Almedalen Week in Visby on the island of Gotland is a must. Internationally, there are conferences with programmes aimed at the public, such as EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and the AAAS Annual Meeting. Contact the Comms Office for more tips and advice.
Contact
For questions about altmetrics, please contact the KI University Library on kib@ki.se
For questions about communication, please contact the Communications Office on either news@ki.se or pressinfo@ki.se