The Evolution of Impact Indicators:
From bibliometrics to altmetrics
The rise of the Open Access movement and advances in digital publishing workflows are creating more opportunities than ever for scholarship to have an impact both within and beyond academia. As research moves online and references to scholarship diverge from the confines of bibliometric citations, many academics and journal publishers have begun to seek new impact indicators to better capture these changing behaviours. Altmetrics have emerged as an alternative indicator that can offer scholars and journal editors a more holistic picture of the reach and utility of their publications.
This ebook explores the evolution of impact from the standpoint of scholars and journals, and how altmetrics fit into the picture. Whether you’re an editor or author, this ebook will provide you with real-life use cases to help you begin tracking altmetric impact indicators for your publications.
In this eBook you’ll find:
- The most common bibliometrics in use today and their strengths and limitations
- What altmetrics are: applications and misconceptions
- How journals and publishers of all sizes benefit from tracking altmetrics
- How scholars can use altmetrics to find new ways to express the reach of their work
- Real-life case studies and tips for getting started
About Scholastica
Scholastica is a technology solutions provider with easy-to-integrate software and services for every aspect of publishing academic journals — from peer review to production to hosting and discovery support. Our mission is to empower scholarly organizations to make quality research available more efficiently and affordably in order to facilitate a sustainable research future. Over 1,000 journals across disciplines use Scholastica.
About Altmetric
Altmetric are a data science company based in London, UK. Supported by Digital Science, Altmetric was founded in 2012 with the aim of helping publishers, authors, funders and institutions more easily track and report on the online activity surrounding their research. Altmetric believe that researchers should get credit for their research no matter what format the output, and that metrics can provide a useful indicator of the potential broader impacts and influence of scholarly work.