Research Impact: Engineering Sciences

Altmetrics (short for "alternative metrics") are non-traditional indicators used to measure the impact and reach of scholarly work, capturing the attention and influence of research beyond traditional citation counts. Altmetrics encompass various forms of online engagement and dissemination, providing a more comprehensive view of how research is consumed, discussed, and utilized in the digital age Priem, Groth, & Taraborelli (2012).

Examples of the kinds of uses of research that may be measured by altmetrics include:

• Mentions on social media like Twitter or Facebook 
• Shares on research networks like ResearchGate or Academia.edu
• Discussions on blogs
• Downloads of papers from websites.
• Saves to citation managers like Zotero or Mendeley 
• Recommendations on sites like F1000Prime

In PlumX metrics from Plum Analytics can be found in article records in databases including EBSCOHost (2016-2021 articles only), Engineering Village, and Science Direct. Article records may be accompanied by a Plum Print, a digital badge that indicates the strength of that article's metrics in 5 categories: citations, usage, captures, mentions, and social media. Find out more at https://plumanalytics.com/learn/about-metrics/.

Engineering Village showing Plum Print in a paper

Altmetric, a UK-based company, specializes in tracking and analyzing the online activity surrounding scholarly research outputs. One of their notable contributions to the field of research metrics is the creation of donut badges. These colorful, circular badges visually represent the attention a research output has received across various platforms, including social media, news outlets, policy documents, and more.