Analysis of Tweets Mentioning Works from an Institutional Repository

Abstract

Altmetrics derived from Twitter have potential benefits for institutional repository (IR) stakeholders (faculty, students, administrators, and academic libraries) when metrics aggregators (Altmetric, Plum Analytics) are integrated with IRs. There is limited research on tweets mentioning works in IRs and how the results impact IR stakeholders, specifically libraries. In order to address this gap in the literature, the author conducted a content analysis of tweets tracked by a metrics aggregator (Plum X Metrics) in a Digital Commons IR. The study found that the majority of tweets were neutral in attitude, intended for a general audience, included no hashtags, and were written by users unaffiliated with the works. The results are similar to findings from other studies, including low numbers of tweeted works, high numbers of tweets neutral in attitude, and evidence of self-tweets. The discussion addresses these results in relation to the value of tweets and suggested improvements to Twitter metrics based on IR stakeholders' needs.