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Alternative metrics

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Alternative metrics Norsk flagg

Alternative metrics (or Altmetrics) provide a complementary view of research impact, working alongside traditional citation metrics to give a broader picture of how research is being noticed and discussed worldwide. They track mentions on social media, blogs, news outlets, policy documents, and other online platforms to measure attention around a publication, researcher, journal, or institution.

1. Media Mentions 

Media mentions records how many times a publication is referenced or discussed in sources such as social media, news outlets, blogs, policy documents, or online platforms. This metric can be found on some publisher websites displaying an Altmetric icon, or in databases such as Scopus via PlumX metrics.

Advantages Limitations
  • captures attention and engagement shortly after publication

  • reflects interest beyond academic audiences, including media, policy, and public discourse

  • can provide an indication of the wider societal relevance of research
  • does not necessarily indicate research quality or impact

  • can be influenced by short-term trends and media interest

  • coverage varies substantially across disciplines, topics, and researchers' engagement with media

2. Views and Downloads

Views and downloads record how many times an article has been viewed or downloaded from publisher platforms, repositories, or other online sources. These are typically displayed on the webpage where the article is hosted.

Advantages Limitations
  • provides an early indication of readership and interest

  • can help assess online engagement with research, particularly for open access publications
  • does not indicate whether the research was actually read or used

  • recording practices vary across platforms, making comparisons difficult

  • not directly comparable across publishers or repositories

3. Saves (e.g. Mendeley Readers)

Saves are the number of times a publication has been saved to personal libraries on reference management platforms such as Mendeley. These can be displayed on the webpage where the article is hosted.

Advantages Limitations
  • provides an early indication of interest among researchers

  • can signal potential future use or citation

  • captures engagement before traditional citation counts become available
  • a save does not necessarily indicate that a publication has been read or used

  • depends on the adoption and coverage of the reference management platform

  • coverage varies across disciplines and user groups

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Questions?

For questions about publication data, assistance with your own bibliometric analysis, or advice on managing researcher profiles and improving the visibility of your research, email us at forskning@ub.uit.no.

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