altmetrics = alternative + metrics
Altmetrics are one way of measuring and assessing the impact of research through considering the many ways that researchers share and discuss their work.
Altmetric data has the potential to capture:
- Online or non-traditional attention to research (such as shares, likes, downloads, views, retweets, comments, and more)
- Engagement with research
- Mentions of research in public policy
- Research collaborators
- Others conducting similar research
- Data that complements traditional bibliometric measures (Citations and the h-index are important, but people share stories in many ways and we are starting to count them)
Altmetric YouTube Channel. (2016, May 5). A beginner's guide to altmetrics. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6XawJ7-880