The impact of social media on citation rates in coloproctology

Abstract

Aim This study aimed to investigate the association between Twitter exposure and the number of citations for coloproctology articles. Method Original articles from journals using Twitter between June 2015 and May 2016 were evaluated for the following characteristics: publishing journal; article subject; study design; nationality, speciality and affiliation of the author(s); and reference on Twitter. Citation data for these articles were retrieved from Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com) in January 2018. We performed a univariate analysis using these data followed by a multivariate, logistic regression analysis to search for factors associated with a high citation level, which was defined as accrual of more than five citations. Results Out of six coloproctology journals listed on the InCites JCR database, three (Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, Colorectal Disease and Techniques in Coloproctology) used Twitter, where 200 (49.5%) out of a total of 404 articles had been featured. Citation rates of articles that featured on Twitter were significantly higher than those that did not (11.4 ± 9.2 vs 4.1 ± 3.1, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, Twitter exposure (OR 8.6, P = 0.001), European Union nationality (OR 2.4, P = 0.004), Colorectal Disease journal (OR 3.3, P = 0.005) and systematic review articles (OR 3.4, P = 0.009) were associated with higher citation levels. Conclusion Article exposure on Twitter was strongly associated with a high citation level. Medical communities should encourage journals as well as physicians to actively utilize social media to expedite the spread of new ideas and ultimately benefit medical society as a whole.

Do you tweet?: trailing the connection between Altmetric and research impact!

“…Probably due to these factors, studies that analyse the link between citation and altmetrics are contradictory. Some studies found associations between social media activity and citation levels, 4 7 8 while others could not confirm this. 9 10…”

“…Similar to the field of Rheumatology, other medical fields also discuss the impact and importance of social media in professional settings, in trainings and the impact of journals. 7 15–17 In general, the outcome is positive, but with partly unclear results. Also beyond the influence of social media on the citation rate, it is becoming increasingly important to be aware of how scientific information can be communicated and disseminated via social media channels to professionals in the field and to the general public.…”

The Use of Social Media to Increase the Impact of Health Research: Systematic Review

“…The 44 correlational studies evaluated the relationship between Altmetrics and bibliometrics in a variety of health research fields and disciplines, covering generic medical or biomedical research disciplines [ 16 , 57 , 60 - 62 , 66 , 70 , 78 , 81 - 83 ], or more specific disease-related research fields, such as multiple sclerosis [ 43 ], neurological research [ 73 ], Parkinson disease [ 53 ], psoriasis [ 25 ], and sepsis [ 44 , 67 ]. Some articles covered clinical or dental medicine [ 64 , 65 , 75 ] and different kinds of surgery [ 59 , 68 , 77 ]; others focused on specialized branches of medicine, such as urology [ 34 , 38 , 39 , 58 ], radiology [ 76 ], and coloproctology [ 69 ].…”

“…Twitter was the most popular social media platform discussed in correlational studies (21 of 44 studies) [ 16 , 17 , 32 , 34 , 38 , 42 , 45 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 59 , 62 , 63 , 68 , 69 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 - 80 ], followed by Mendeley (15 studies) [ 25 , 45 , 55 , 57 , 60 , 63 , 71 , 72 , 75 - 79 , 82 , 83 ]. In reference to the association between Altmetric scores and bibliometrics, the results were mixed.…”

The Role of Social Media in Disseminating Plastic Surgery Research: The Relationship between Citations, Altmetrics and Article Characteristics

“…Numerous articles over the last decade have shown that Tweets are a significant predictor of citations in non-specialty medical journals 13 . This is reflected in subspecialty journals also, where altmetrics are associated with inflated citation rates in the fields of cardiology 14 , emergency medicine 15 , gastroenterology 16 , general surgery 17,18 , paediatric surgery 19 , pain medicine 20 and urology 7 . This is particularly true for humorous or curious topics 7,21,22 .…”