webinar: joining the "buzz": the role of social media in raising research visibility
DESCRIPTION
Joining the ‘buzz’ : the role of social media in raising research visibility: Traditional bibliometric methods of evaluating academic research, such as journal impact factors and article citations, have been supplemented in the past 5-10 years by the development of altmetrics (alternative metrics/article level metrics). Altmetrics measures aspects of the impact of a work, such as references in data and knowledge bases, article views, downloads and mentions in social media and news media. This webinar (based on a presentation of the same name at the LIASA conference on 24th September 2014) gives a brief background to altmetrics and demonstrates how Rhodes University, Grahamstown, librarians are using social media to raise the visibility of the research output of their institution. Presented by Eileen Shepherd, Principal Librarian, Science & Pharmacy, Rhodes University LibraryTRANSCRIPT
Joining the ‘buzz’ : the role of social media in raising research visibility at
Rhodes University Grahamstown, South Africa
Eileen ShepherdPrincipal Librarian : Faculty Liaison Services
Science & Pharmacy
Rhodes University Library
Grahamstown, South Africa
LIASA – HELIG webinar
6th November 2014
This presentation endeavours to:
to provide a brief introduction to altmetrics – a non-traditional form of measuring scholarly impact
to demonstrate the use of social media in raising awareness and visibility of Rhodes University research
Traditional bibliometric methods of evaluating academic research
Citations
h-indicesA scholar with an h-index of 18 has published 18 papers each of which has been cited in other papers at least 18 times
Journal Impact FactorsIn any given year, the impact factor of a journal is the average number of citations received per paper published in that journal during the two preceding years
supplemented in the past 5-6 years
by the development of altmetrics
i.e.(alternative metrics or article level metrics)
“The creation and study of new metrics based on the Social
Web for analyzing and informing scholarship”
http://altmetrics.org/about/
Traditional bibliometrics have been
Do / should / will social media feature in academia?
Social media and
scholarly communication?
“…….. Web 2.0 applications will have an increasing role in the scholarly communication process. While research shows that take up in academia is at a relatively low level (although at least two UK-based Vice Chancellors now have a Twitter following), many publishers are providing wiki-based forums for specific journals or disciplines facilitating discussion on, and sharing of, research findings…”
Woodward, H. (2010) Dissemination Models in Scholarly
Communication, New Review of Academic Librarianship, 16:S1, 1-3, DOI:0.1080/13614533.2010.514763
Do academics use social media in the course of their research?
: Survey Results
“Giant academic social networks have taken off
to a degree that no one expected
even a few years ago*
Survey asked how researchers used social networks and/or
profile-hosting or search services
Received: 3,500 responses from 95 countries
*Van Noorden, R., 2014. Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network. Nature, 512(7513), pp.126–129. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lo3fgn4
8Sites in order of popularity with researchers (330 regular visitors)
61%
1%
12%
48%
8%
8%12%
40%
38%
22%
4%
5%
Van Noorden, R., 2014. Online collaboration: Scientists and the social
network. Nature, 512(7513), pp.126–129. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lo3fgn4
9
Scholarly use of Twitter
Reasons for using Twitter
330 regular users from 3500 respondents
49% Follow discussion46% To post work42% Discover papers40% Discover peers40% Comment on research36% Share links to content
From ‘Nature’ survey
10
Due to the increasing variety of online references to research, and also of tools for sharing research…
A confusing array of social media choices:
C
How do we measure impact and how is research
communicated & shared via the Web?
New tools needed to measure
Enter : altmetricsnew approach to determining quality/popularity of research
value can be assessed by tallying shares, saves, reviews,
adaptations & social media usage
no longer a FAD
shows impact of research outside of the academy
limitations? need to develop a way to differentiate between scholarly
& sexy research ; vulnerable to gaming
databases & publishers: incorporation of altmetrics in search results
Konkiel, S., 2013. Altmetrics : A 21st-Century Solution to Determining Research Quality. (Cover story). Online Searcher, 37(4), pp.11–15. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lrvlu6g
Origin of the term: altmetrics
Who is collecting & sharing altmetrics?
A cluster of servers that watch social media sites, newspapers, government policy
documents and other sources for mentions of scholarly articles. Brings all the attention
together to compile article level metricshttp://www.altmetric.com/
Tracks more than 20 different types of artifacts, including journal articles, books,
videos, presentations, conference proceedings, datasets, source code, cases,
and morehttp://www.plumanalytics.com/
Open-source, web-based tool that helps researchers explore and share the diverse
impacts of all their research productshttps://impactstory.org/
14
Example of altmetrics
15
Use of Altmetric bookmarklet
Altmetric stats
Click formore detailsGet this bookmarklet for your toolbar
http://www.altmetric.com/bookmarklet.php
Bookmarklet in toolbar
More details – from previous slide
Another example of altmetrics in action
Note the “Article metrics” option on the Nature webpage
Article metrics – from previous slide
Altmetrics data for article – accessed by using altmetrics bookmarklet
Example using an article indexed on Scopus
Scopus now includesAltmetrics at article level
Article indexed on Scopus – embedded Altmetric details
Embedded Altmetrics on Scopus : the details
Register for email updates
when this article is shared
NB
demographics
Altmetrics demographics for article
and Mendeley readers : details
Same article on Mendeley
More about
Impressive support base
US$500,000 grant from Sloan Foundation
28
Example of an ImpactStory profile
NB Register for your own ImpactStory profilehttps://impactstory.org/
https://impactstory.org/
Beyond the traditional
Social media ‘stats’:what do/could they offer?
Provide evidence that relevant communities are aware of a specific paper
Provide evidence that a relatively under cited paper is having a research impact
Provide evidence of public interest in…
Indicate a pathway for research to reach a wide range of audiences
Compare readership of articles across countries
Compare communities discussing articles - science communicators, researchers, policy makers, practitioner communities…
Neylon, C., (2014) Altmetrics can signal flows of information for paths in scholarly communication not yet mapped. Impact of Social Sciences. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/10/07/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/
Future of altmetrics?
…[these] numbers …are signals of the flow of information down paths that we haven’t mapped.
• most exciting possibility…only just starting to explore.
• who is using that information?• correlation analysis can’t tell us this, but more
sophisticated approaches might• with that information …could design scholarly
communication systems to maximise their reach, value and efficiency
Neylon, C., (2014) Altmetrics can signal flows of information for paths in scholarly communication not yet mapped. Impact of Social Sciences. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/10/07/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/
Open Access + Social Media = Competitive Advantage
How can open access outperform its tenacious, institutionalized competition, the traditional top-tier
journals?
Perhaps through its intimate relationship with social media.
Blogging, tweeting, publicly discussing research > benefits for scientists, journals, and even society, > increased
debate and transparency
Tabor, A., (2012) Open Access + Social Media = Competitive Advantage. http://tinyurl.com/pqrv4ds
James Balm, Social Media Assistant BioMed Central
combining research & social media to deliver a message that is accessible to everyone and make science exciting
draw significant attention to [specific] research papers
Facebook and Twitter, help bring approximately 25,000 visitors to BioMed Central research papers per month
engage / discuss important issues that affect the science community and to discuss new research, its quality and validity
*Open access and social media: helping science move forwards. Evidently Cochrane. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/pftvx5h
Recent Altmetrics conference in London sponsored by Wellcome
Trust
Presentations and review of conference:
http://tinyurl.com/ovfjods http://tinyurl.com/palxkqk
Worth a visit
ScienceDirect – “social media” featured in top 25 downloads in 2nd quarter of 2014 Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media Business Horizons, Volume 53, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 59-68 Kaplan, Andreas M.; Haenlein, Michael
Most downloads
Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix •Business Horizons, Volume 52, Issue 4, July 2009, Pages 357-365 Mangold, W. Glynn; Faulds, David J.
3rd highest downloads
Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media Business Horizons, Volume 54, Issue 3, May 2011, Pages 241-251 Kietzmann, Jan H.; Hermkens, Kristopher; McCarthy, Ian P.; Silvestre, Bruno S.
7th highest downloads
Social media in academia?
So what! Why should I care?
I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS
I’LL PASS ON THIS ONE
Practical example of the use of social media in an academic context in order to highlight research
output
How are Rhodes University librarians are using
social media to raise research visibility?
http://www.ru.ac.za/library/
Putting it together
@RhodesResearch Twitter account – articles, conference papers, theses, reports of research, etc. are tweeted regularly
These are re-tweeted on subject-related Twitter accounts
which are embedded in our Subject LibGuides – increase visibility
Subject blogs – monthly posting of research (presently Science & Pharmacy) output with links to articles/papers
which Rhodes Library Facebook & Twitter then advertise
@RhodesResearch - Twitter accounthttps://twitter.com/RhodesResearch
Initiated as an experiment
in May 2013: with sole purpose of
promoting Rhodes research output
Alerts to Rhodes-affiliated research:
Other sources:
How is Rhodes research information sourced by librarians?
Web of ScienceScopusEBSCOhostSabinetResearchGateSAePublications
Academic department websites & researchers
Rhodes University webpageMediaWord of mouthGoogleScholar author alerts
Article on publisher’s site
Use the DOI in the Twitter link to the article
Publisher’s website : “Share” options
Sharing is facilitated by the fact that
more and more publishers are
including ‘share’ options at article-level – makes it so much easier
Say it with a #hashtag! Make your Tweets more visible
. Albany Museum #AlbanyMuseumBiochemistry #RUBiochem
Biotech Innovation Centre (RUBIC)
#RUBiotech
Botany #RUBotany
Chem #RUChem
ComSci #RUComSci
EBRU #RUEBRU
Env Sci #RUEnvSci
Geography #RUGeography
Geology #RUGeology
HKE #RUHKE
IWR #RUIWR
Maths #RUMaths
Pharmacy #RUPharm
Physics #RUPhysics
Stats #RUStats
Zoo #RUZoo
#RUIWR- example of standardised
hashtag for academic
departments
#tags for RU Science Depts
@RUBiochemnews Twitter account follows @RhodesResearch
Retweets from @RhodesResearch
@RULPharmNews Twitter account follows @RhodesResearch
@RULPharmNews ‘Follows’
@RhodesResearch and re-tweets
relevant articles, thus providing
extra exposure to RU pharmacy
research
Embedded ‘tweets’ in the Pharmacy Subject Guide
Tweets appear automatically in the
embedded @RULPharmNews twitter
account on LibGuide
Blog: monthly list of Rhodes Science Pharmacy researchhttp://rulscipharm.blogspot.com/
Rhodes Library Facebook page:Advertising RhodesResearch
Rhodes Library Twitter site:Advertising Rhodes Research
Interest in @RhodesResearch
289 followers ( as at 5 November 2014)Rhodes studentsAbout 20 Rhodes academics & support staffProfessional & Research organisationsPublishers / journal editorsJournalists / media organisationsAcademic librarians (non-Rhodes)Individuals (other than Rhodes students & staff)
@RhodesResearch followers:Research & other organisations
No of followers@EzemveloScience KZN wildlife (572)@HSP_70 Scientific Resource (18)@CSIR Council Science SA (2710)@ASSAf_Official (179)@SAPECS_TWEETS social-ecological systems (48)@FormularyIE Irish Medicines (598)@OWSD_SA Women in Science (75)@ISSF sustainable tuna fishing (4620)@GreenMatterZA environmental (347)@GreenLeagueZA environmental (118)@SAStats (4458)
Potential reach
@RhodesResearch followers:Research & other organisations
No. of followers @Research Africa Research funding (439) @SAYAS_SA Young Academy of Science (139) @ASSAf_Official Academy of Science SA (179) @ACEP_ZA Coelacanth programme (256) @agingandsociety US aging research (173) @NHLSBRC Bio-Resource Center (3) @ELIDZSTP1R&D facilities (26) @eoth_moz community-based conservation (592) @EiffelCorpSA educational technology (17) @prospectpredict business development USA (635) @DorringtonResGr microbiologists (20) @SASBi_Bioinf Society for Bioinformatics (132)
@RhodesResearch followers: Publishers, journal editors, media
No of followers
@SasjaSA SA Science Journalists' Association (475) @Rhodes_JMS Rhodes School of Journalism (586) @Ecquid_Novi African Journalism Studies (145) @TheJournalistSA Context & history for key issues (454) @alphagalileo breaking research news - London (2656) @Awesomelastus journalist – Zambia (637) @struandouglas freelance journalist (82) @MakanaEdutouris promotes travel for learning (167) @SciBraai features: SA research-technology-innovation (659) @hwasser Prof of Media Studies – UCT (2094)
@RhodesResearch followers: Publishers, journal editors, media
No of followers @cdnsciencepub scientific & technical journals (2562) @CG_Publishing academic publishers – Illinois, USA (99) @SAJS_Official SA Journal of Science (108) @sarahemilywild Science editor, Mail & Guardian (2592) @Steven_Lang journalist (260) Dalton Transactions Royal Soc Chem journal (2270) @Grocotts local newspaper (2180) @mishsolomon freelance journalist – Johannesburg (3817) @scientist_kenni Science Communicator – Cape Town (327)
@RhodesResearch followers:Individuals – a selection
No of followers @Anneke1976 Programme Dir. Amsterdam Fringe Festival (925) @brocksaglio Canadian academic (Geography) (205) @pat_loria Academic library director (359) @RickMavrovich Global Executive Strategist (2920) @CazV7776 social worker (94) @JustinBlakeZA marine biologist (291) @kveerubhotla Pharmacist – India (14) @Morgs_John Scientist – Cape Town (39) @SarahGoodier open access proponent - UCT (784) @CarolineDean academic librarian – UCT (96) @gsulc UCT academic & education writer (220) @schwarzwild1 communications specialist – Germany (119) @BonnieAgea researcher, writer, commentator – Tanzania (180) 26 Rhodes University academics / support staff
From research alert to the world!
“The retweet is one of the most commonly used tools on Twitter, and is a great way to pass on interesting
tweets that you have read [to] your followers.”
Twitonomy site: retweets from @RhodesResearch
http://twitonomy.com/
Twitter Analytics of Followers
https://analytics.twitter.com/about
Reaction from Rhodes University community
Polite interestMild interestTotal disinterestFaint enthusiasmScepticismImplied ridicule
Thanks for doing thisRetweeting of tweetsResearch items for tweeting
Interest in using for Department
What to do?This called for some….
which resulted in some interesting responses from academics…..
Alerting researchers to the use of Twitter to highlight their research
From: Eileen Shepherd [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 11 September 2014 11:16 AM To: ………………………………………
Subject: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Hi ……………….. Thought you might like to see your article is featured on @RhodesResearch https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch regardsEileen
Response from this historian From: …………………………………….Sent: 11 September 2014 11:20 AMTo: 'Eileen Shepherd'Subject: RE: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Wow, thank you. Very innovative of you guys. Keep it up.
From: Eileen Shepherd [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 11 September 2014 11:16 AMTo:………………………..Subject: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Hi …………………….Thought you might like to see your article is featured on @RhodesResearch https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch Regards
Eileen
Another example, with response: a more reserved chemist, time!
From: ………………….Sent: 28 August 2014 04:59 PMTo: Eileen ShepherdSubject: Re: MRSA pyruvate kinase inhibitory activity of synthetically derived thiazole containing deoxytopsentin analogues
Thanks so much Eileen, this is quite exciting! Kind Regards,……………… On Thu, 2014-08-28 at 11:57 +0200, Eileen Shepherd wrote:> Hi ……………………. >
> Thought you might like to know your article is featured on > @RhodesResearch https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch>
Some reflections regarding @RhodesResearch experiment
Is it worth continuing?
Yes
Enhanced engagement with research & researchers
Time-consuming
An added dimension to job responsibilities
But interesting
And stimulating
Provided an opportunity to engage with developing field of altmetrics
References Balm, J., 2014. Open access and social media: helping science move forward. Evidently Cochrane. http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/open-access-social-media-can-help-science-move-forwards/Gunasekaran, S. & Arunachalam, S., 2014. The impact factors of open access and subscription journals across fields. Current Science, 107(3), pp.380–388. http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/107/03/0380.pdf Hitchcock, T., 2014. Twitter and blogs are not add-ons to academic research, but a simple reflection of the passion that underpins it. Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/07/28/twitter-and-blogs-academic-public-sphere/ Konkiel, S.P., 2014. The Imperative for Open Altmetrics. Journal of Electronic Publishing, 17(3). Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3336451.0017.301 Macpherson, E., 2014. Four things policy-makers need to know about social media data and real time analytics. Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/08/01/four-things-on-social-media-data-for-policymakers/ Neylon, C., 2014. Altmetrics: What are they good for? | PLOS Opens. http://blogs.plos.org/opens/2014/10/03/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/ Tabor, A. 2012. Open Access + Social Media = Competitive Advantage. https://www.mysciencework.com/news/6350/open-access-social-media-competitive-advantageWing, K., 2014. Scientists across disciplines must get to a better agreement on social media metrics. Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/09/29/what-are-scientists-doing-on-twitter/ Woolman, J. 2014. Social media outcomes in academia: engage with your audience and they will engage with you. Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/09/24/social-media-outcomes-academia /
Thank you for listening!Please Follow @RhodesResearch
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I will try to answer any questions you may have but would also be interested to hear your
reactions and comments.
What do you think of this idea?
Feel free to contact me (until 15 December 2014)