Digital Echoes: The Link Between Altmetric Scores and Citations in Primary Care Research

By Clara Slone Nov 04, 2023 1256 0

The digital age has ushered in a variety of metrics to measure the impact and reach of academic research. Traditional bibliometrics, like citation counts, have been complemented with newer metrics such as Altmetric scores, which gauge the online activity and mentions surrounding scholarly content. However, the relationship between these two measures is not well-understood across all disciplines, and few studies have explored this dynamic within the primary care literature.

In a recent study published in Learned Publishing, titled "Exploring the relationship between traditional bibliometrics and Altmetric scores in the primary care literature," Authored by Alexander Burrell, Daniel Butler, Obioha C. Ukoumunne, and Hajira Dambha-Miller set out to understand the association between Altmetric scores and citations among primary care research journals. Their study focused on the ten most cited articles from the top 15 highest impact factor journals in primary care research.

From the 150 articles assessed, it was observed that each article had a median of 36.5 citations. Delving into the correlation, a positive association was found between the Altmetric scores and the number of citations an article received. Specifically, an increase in the Altmetric score by 10% was correlated with a 1.68% rise in the citation rate.

These findings have significant implications. As Altmetric scores reflect the broader impact of research in online platforms and media, a higher score may translate to a broader audience and more citations. Therefore, the study underscores the importance of online dissemination strategies for researchers, academic institutions, and primary care journals, indicating that active online engagement could potentially boost an article's citation rate.