Scientometrics 2.0: New metrics of scholarly impact on the social Web

Abstract

The growing flood of scholarly literature is exposing the weaknesses of current, citation-based methods of evaluating and filtering articles. A novel and promising approach is to examine the use and citation of articles in a new forum: Web 2.0 services like social bookmarking and microblogging. Metrics based on this data could build a “Scientometics 2.0,” supporting richer and more timely pictures of articles' impact. This paper develops the most comprehensive list of these services to date, assessing the potential value and availability of data from each. We also suggest the next steps toward building and validating metrics drawn from the social Web.

A multi-metric approach for research evaluation

“…With Cheung [20] we may say that "likes" or "shares" lack authority and scientific credibility so that the use of altmetrics may still be somewhat premature. That said: we fully agree with Priem, Piwowar and their colleagues [7,8,10,21] that making an impact nowadays is totally different from making an impact 50 years ago, and hence research evaluation should adapt to changed academic, technical and social circumstances. Moreover, citation counts are slow, by their nature, as publications must be read, reflected upon, and used in one's own research; then this scientific piece of work must pass peer review and be published before a citation can occur.…”

“…Recently, a newcomer has entered the metrics field, namely altmetrics [7,8]. It has not (yet) a precise definition, but refers to the use of social media, particularly Web 2.0 media, in assessing the influence of researchers on all type of users.…”

A multi-disciplinary perspective on emergent and future innovations in peer review

“…Therefore, developing next-generation platforms for scientific evaluations should focus on adapting the best currently used approaches for these rather than on innovating entirely new ones ( Neylon & Wu, 2009; Priem & Hemminger, 2010; Yarkoni, 2012). One important element that will determine the success or failure of any such peer-to-peer reputation or evaluation system is a critical mass of researcher uptake.…”

The Altmetric Score: A New Measure for Article-Level Dissemination and Impact

“…17 The widespread adoption of electronic publishing, paired with the rise of social media for dissemination and discussion of scientific literature, makes it feasible to quantify the discussion of an article on blogs, podcasts, social media platforms, and news media. These measures aim to address many of the failings of traditional impact metrics; they are available nearly instantaneously, measure the dissemination of individual articles, and may more accurately assess total overall readership by incorporating more metrics-primarily measures of social media-rather than simply citations in traditional journals.…”