Slides for a talk given to Research Impact Group on how researchers can maximise their reach by using social media and altmetrics

1. Using social media
for research impact
Dr Helen Dixon
@SocialMediaQUB
Tweets
Wikipedia
Blogs
Comments
Likes
Shares
Views
Downloads
Clicks
Reddit
Facebook
Citations
Altmetrics

2. In order for there to be impact, there
must first be knowledge exchange
How can we make
research information
easily accessible?
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

3. Knowledge
exchange
2-way
dialogue
Informal
learning
Timely
feedback
Networking
We can use social media to facilitate knowledge
exchange by using it to engage with stakeholders
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

4. By using data visualisation and
storytelling, we can make
research information more
shareable and translate
outputs into a format suitable
for non-academic audiences
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

5. By making research information easily
accessible online, we can make researchers,
institutions and funders identifiable as the
contributors to specific research outputs
@HelenDixon10
@SocialMediaQUB

6. Altmetrics
“the creation and study of new metrics based
on the Social Web for analyzing, and
informing scholarship”
http://www.altmetric.com/about-altmetrics/
Complement existing bibliometrics such as
impact factor and h-index
Alternative + metrics
@SocialMediaQUB

7. What can we measure?
Usage
• Views, downloads, clicks
Captures
• Bookmarks, favorites
Mentions
• Blog posts, comments, reviews
Social media
• Likes, shares,Tweets
Citations
• PubMedCentral, Scopus,
patents
http://plumanalytics.com/learn/about-metrics/
Altmetrics
Academic
significance
Public
attention
Professional
impact
Policy
influence
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

8. Advantages over traditional metrics
• Real-time measures of attention
Allow data to be collated
easily from various sources
• Access to comments, location of users,
networks
Can include contextual
information
• Policy makers, practitioners, public
Measure attention from
outside academia
• Blogs, videos, datasets, software…..
Incorporate a diverse range
of ‘products of research’
@SocialMediaQUB

9. Altmetrics do not replace citations!
Citations Altmetrics
Altmetrics may not
correlate with
citations as they
reflect attention
from audiences
who may not
necessarily cite
@HelenDixon10

10. Value to research
Navigation and tracking
• Enhance literature
search
• Stay informed of
recent publications
• Follow research trends
based on up-to-date
metrics of article
impact
• Identify potential
collaborators
Assessment
• Get timely feedback
on how research has
been received
• Assess wider
engagement outside
of academia
• Support other impact
measurements
Process
• Benchmark and
monitor article
performance
• Share metrics with
others, e.g. funders
• Use evaluations and
feedback to inform
future decisions and
project design
@SocialMediaQUB

11. Altmetrics enable scientists to see
ripples generated by their research
that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Roberta Kwok
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7463-491a
@SocialMediaQUB

12. Limitations of altmetrics
Impact vs attention
• Quantity does not equal quality
Lack of standards for reporting
• Differences between scoring or rating systems
Vulnerability to gaming
• System can be manipulated easily by automated bots
@SocialMediaQUB

13. Use altmetrics to
identify success stories
or to support other
indicators of impact
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

14. Impactstory
“open-source, web-
based tool that helps
scientists explore and
share the diverse
impacts of all their
research products—
from traditional ones like
journal articles, to
emerging products like
blog posts, datasets,
and software.”
https://impactstory.org/
30 day free trial - $60 per year
@SocialMediaQUB

15. @SocialMediaQUB

16. @SocialMediaQUB

17. Altmetric
Altmetric for librarians
“track and analyse the online activity
around scholarly literature”
• Policy documents
• Mainstream media
• Blogs
• Online reference managers
• Peer-review forums
• Social media
• Wikipedia
• YouTube
• Publisher download data
Score is based on
the quantity and
quality of posts
@SocialMediaQUB

18. Altmetric Bookmarklet
Using the Altmetric Bookmarklet
@SocialMediaQUB

19. figshare
“repository where users
can make all of their
research outputs
available in
a citable, shareable and
discoverable manner”
http://figshare.com
@SocialMediaQUB

20. @SocialMediaQUB

21. Google Scholar
Use Google Scholar Citations to keep
track of citations and compute
citation metrics
Access via My Citations at
https://scholar.google.co.uk/
You can make your profile public, so
that it appears in Google Scholar
results when people search for your
name
http://blog.impactstory.org/make-google-scholar-better/
@SocialMediaQUB

22. @SocialMediaQUB

23. ORCID
“open, non-profit,
community-based
effort to provide a
registry of unique
researcher
identifiers and a
transparent method
of linking research
activities and
outputs to these
identifiers”
http://orcid.org/
@SocialMediaQUB

24. @SocialMediaQUB

25. How can you
incorporate
social media into
your knowledge
exchange and
communications
strategy?
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

26. Using altmetrics to maximise impact
Establish a professional online profile and researcher ID
Research the altmetrics that are currently being used in
your area
Find out what altmetrics are available for your
publications and other products of research
Incorporate altmetrics in your CV and online profiles
• ResearchGate, Academia.edu, LinkedIn, Blogs,Web pages
Share your successes on your profiles andTwitter!
@SocialMediaQUB

27. Involving the right people
• Engage with stakeholders early and keep them informed
• Identify blockers and try to address their concerns
Analyse
stakeholders
• Who plays a significant role in the stakeholder community?
• Who already has an established online presence & network?
Encourage
influencers
• Use social media to reach out to diverse groups
• Maintain communications to nurture key relationshipsBuild networks
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

28. Developing a research impact culture
Ensure
researchers have
up-to-date online
profiles
Share details of
impact activities
with images/video
Simplify recording
of impact
activities
Encourage sharing
of good practice
across University
Provide
appropriate
training and
support
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

29. Further reading
• How to get your research noticed online
• PLoS Altmetrics Collection
• Altmetric mentions and the communication of medical research
• Strategies to GetYour Research Mentioned Online
• UsingTwitter™ to Drive Research Impact: A Discussion of
Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges
@SocialMediaQUB