Presentation to the ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Science on the evaluation of the digital impact of research. There is a video associated with these slides available at https://vimeo.com/149665866

1. Evaluating your digital impact
Workshop presented at SGSSS Summer School
Edinburgh, 9th June 2015
Part 1 presented by Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

2. http://hazelhall.org/about

3. Workshop part 1
Covered here:
1. Consideration of the range of social media tools available to help increase
research impact
2. Recommendations on which tools to use for developing an online presence
as a researcher

4. Established impact measures
Bibliometric indicators measure “academic” impact of individuals’
output
 Quantity of publications
 Quantity of citations to those publications
 Codified in citation databases

5. Established impact measures
Bibliometric indicators measure “academic” impact
 Quantity of publications
 Quantity of citations to those publications
http://webofknowledge.com

6. Alternative impact measures
Altmetrics assess the impact of individual output using various
criteria across a range of platforms
 recommended by others
 praised by opinion leaders
 mentioned in social media
 etc.
 downloaded
 acknowledged
 included in syllabi
 quoted in the press
 cited in policy documents
 Judgements of esteem rely on more than
“mere” publication record.
 Visibility is becoming increasingly important
for personal research impact and the
reputational benefits that this brings:
 Collaboration approaches
 Speaking invitations
 Committee service

7. http://cas-csid.cas.unt.edu/?p=4475

8. http://hazelhall.org/2013/07/14/altmetrics-achieving-and-measuring-success-in-communicating-research-in-the-digital-age/

9. But what about wider impact?
Research reach  policy  action 
improvements
 Take into account target
audience(s) preferences for
consuming research output
 Present output in an way
that is accessible to the
target audience
 Ensure project has high
level support
 Include target research
audience(s) in the execution
of the research
Activities to ensure that investment in research deliver social and
economic benefit

10. http://lisresearchcoalition.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rilies1_report.pdf

11. But what about wider impact?
Research reach  policy  action 
improvements
 Take into account target
audience(s) preferences for
consuming research output
 Present output in an way
that is accessible to the
target audience
 Ensure project has high
level support
 Include target research
audience(s) in the execution
of the research
Activities to ensure that investment in research deliver social and
economic benefit
Much of this is about how the work is
disseminated, in particular:
 output format (content creation)
 accessibility (sharing)
- and this is where social media come in…

12. There are lots of places “to be”
 (Local profiles)
 CV services
 e.g. LinkedIn
 Resource sharing sites
 e.g. Flickr, Pinterest,
SlideShare, SoundCloud,
Vimeo, YouTube
 ID services
 e.g. Orcid, ResearcherID
 Profile services
 e.g. Academia.edu, Google Scholar,
ResearchGate
 Blogging and microblogging
platforms
 e.g. CoverItLive, Medium, Quora, The
Conversation, Tumblr, Twitter
WordPress
 Impact measurement tools
 e.g. ImpactStory, Klout
 Collaboration sites
 e.g. Citeulike, Mendeley
 Social networking sites
 e.g. Facebook, Google+, Lanyrd

13. So where should you be?
For wide dissemination of publications
 ID services (e.g. Orcid, ResearcherID) and research profile
services (e.g. Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ResearchGate)
For wide dissemination of presentations
 Resource sharing sites (e.g. SlideShare, SoundCloud, Vimeo,
YouTube)
If you are interested in tracking your impact
 Impact measurement tools (e.g. ImpactStory, Klout)
If you want to keep up to date/others updated
 Twitter
- and to provide a directory of it all
 About.me

14. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn

15. 15

16. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓
2. Your academic identity registered on ID services (e.g. Orcid,
ResearcherID)

18. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓
2. Your academic identity registered on ID services (e.g. Orcid,
ResearcherID) ✓
3. Your publication track record on profile services (e.g.
Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ResearchGate)

20. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓
2. Your academic identity registered on ID services (e.g. Orcid,
ResearcherID) ✓
3. Your publication track record on profile services (e.g.
Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ResearchGate) ✓
4. Links to the above from About.me

22. Should you set up a personal blog?
1. Do you want/need a full “independent” online profile?
2. Do you enjoy writing?
3. Are you prepared to give up your free time to blog regularly?
4. What will be your communications strategy?
 What will you call your blog?
 What will it cover?
 How often will you post to it?
 How will you direct traffic to it?

23. Some blog examples
Research students in the Centre for Social Informatics
at Edinburgh Napier University
 Frances Ryan: http://justaphd.com
 @cleverfrances
 John Mowbray: http://johnmowbray.org
 @jmowb_napier
 Iris Buunk: http://theknowledgeexplorer.org
 @irisbuunk

24. social media planning 24

25. social media planning 25

26. social media planning 26

27. Blog alternatives
 In-house news platform
 Update function on LinkedIn
 Ad hoc blogging on Medium, guest contributions to The Conversation

30. Resources
For further detail on individual services mentioned in this presentation
see Using social media to promote your research by Hazel Hall.
The London School of Economics blog Maximising the impact of
academic research is well worth following
Sharing the DREaM blueprint gives an account of how social media
extended the reach of an AHRC project in 2011/12

31. social media planning 31
https://theconversation.com/mind-the-gender-gap-why-women-must-still-fight-for-equality-in-science-32923

32. To end… a commercial break!
Free doctoral colloquium, Monday 22nd June, Aberdeen

34. Evaluating your digital impact
Workshop presented at SGSSS Summer School
Edinburgh, 9th June 2015
Part 1 presented by Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall