This document discusses how open access and social media can work together to increase the visibility and impact of academic research. It provides examples of how altmetrics, which measure scholarly impact through social media mentions and shares, can supplement traditional bibliometric measures. The presentation then demonstrates how Rhodes University librarians are using Twitter and blogs to promote Rhodes research outputs and raise their online visibility and visibility within relevant scholarly communities. By tagging articles with hashtags and reposting on subject-specific Twitter accounts, the library aims to increase dissemination and discovery of Rhodes University research.

1. Research-Open Access-Social Media
A winning combination
More visibility
Higher impact
Eileen Shepherd
Principal Librarian : Faculty Liaison Services
Science & Pharmacy
Rhodes University Library
Grahamstown, South Africa
e.shepherd@ru.ac.za
Open Access Week Symposium
Rhodes University
21 October 2014

2. This presentation endeavours to:
 to show that “social media and open access [are] a great
couple”*
 to provide a brief introduction to altmetrics – a non-traditional
form of measuring scholarly impact
 to demonstrate the use of social media in raising awareness
and visibility of Rhodes University research
*Open access and social media: helping science move forwards. Evidently Cochrane. Available at:
http://tinyurl.com/pftvx5h

3. Traditional bibliometric methods
of evaluating academic research
 Citations
 h-indices
A scholar with an h-index of 18 has
published 18 papers each of which has
been cited in other papers at least 18
times
 Journal Impact Factors
In any given year, the impact factor of a
journal is the average number of
citations received per paper published
in that journal during the two preceding
years

4. Traditional bibliometrics have been
supplemented in the
past 5-6 years
by the development
of altmetrics
i.e.(alternative
metrics or article
level metrics)
“The creation and
study of new metrics
based on the Social
Web for analyzing and
informing scholarship”
http://altmetrics.org/about/

5. Do / should / will social media
feature in academia?

6. Social media
and
scholarly communication?
“…….. Web 2.0 applications will have an increasing
role in the scholarly communication process. While
research shows that take up in academia is at a
relatively low level (although at least two UK-based
Vice Chancellors now have a Twitter following),
many publishers are providing wiki-based forums for
specific journals or disciplines facilitating discussion
on, and sharing of, research findings…”
Woodward, H. (2010) Dissemination Models in Scholarly
Communication, New Review of Academic Librarianship, 16:S1, 1-3,
DOI:0.1080/13614533.2010.514763

7. Do academics use social media in the
course of their research?
: Survey Results
“Giant academic social networks have taken off
to a degree that no one expected
even a few years ago*
Survey asked how researchers used social networks and/or
profile-hosting or search services
Received: 3,500 responses from 95 countries
*Van Noorden, R., 2014. Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network. Nature,
512(7513), pp.126–129. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lo3fgn4

8. Sites in order of popularity 8
with researchers (330 regular visitors)
61%
1%
12%
48%
8%
8%
12%
40%
38%
22%
4%
5%
Van Noorden, R., 2014. Online
collaboration: Scientists and the social
network. Nature, 512(7513), pp.126–129.
Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lo3fgn4

9. 9
Scholarly use of Twitter
Reasons for using
Twitter
330 regular users from
3500 respondents
49% Follow discussion
46% To post work
42% Discover papers
40% Discover peers
40% Comment on research
36% Share links to content
From ‘Nature’ survey

10. New tools needed to measure
Due to the increasing variety of online references to research,
and also of tools for sharing research…
A confusing array of social media choices:
C
How do we measure impact and how is research
communicated & shared via the Web?
10

11. Enter : altmetrics
new approach to determining quality/popularity of research
value can be assessed by tallying shares, saves, reviews,
adaptations & social media usage
 no longer a FAD
shows impact of research outside of the academy
 limitations? need to develop a way to differentiate between
scholarly & sexy research ; vulnerable to gaming
databases & publishers: incorporation of altmetrics in search
results
Konkiel, S., 2013. Altmetrics : A 21st-Century Solution to Determining Research Quality. (Cover story). Online
Searcher, 37(4), pp.11–15. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/lrvlu6g

12. Origin of the term: altmetrics

13. Who is collecting & sharing altmetrics?
A cluster of servers that watch social media
sites, newspapers, government policy
documents and other sources for mentions
of scholarly articles. Brings all the attention
together to compile article level metrics
http://www.altmetric.com/
Tracks more than 20 different types of
artifacts, including journal articles, books,
videos, presentations, conference
proceedings, datasets, source code,
cases, and more
http://www.plumanalytics.com/
Open-source, web-based tool that helps
researchers explore and share the diverse
impacts of all their research products
https://impactstory.org/

14. 14
Example of altmetrics

15. Use of Altmetric bookmarklet
15
Bookmarklet
in toolbar
Altmetric
stats
Click for
more
Get this bookmarklet for your toolbar details
http://www.altmetric.com/bookmarklet.php

16. More details – from previous slide

17. Another example of altmetrics in action
Note the “Article metrics”
option on the Nature
webpage

18. Article metrics – from Nature webpage

19. Altmetrics data for article – accessed by
using altmetrics bookmarklet

20. Example using an article
indexed on Scopus
Scopus now includes
Altmetrics at article level

21. Article indexed on Scopus – embedded
Altmetric details

22. Embedded Altmetrics on Scopus :
the details
Register
for email
updates
when this
article is
shared

23. Altmetrics demographics for article

24. and Mendeley readers : details

25. Same article on Mendeley

26. More about

27. Impressive support base
US$500,000 grant
from Sloan Foundation

28. 28
Example of an ImpactStory profile
NB Register for your own ImpactStory profile

29. https://impactstory.org/

30. Beyond the traditional

31. Social media ‘stats’:
what do/could they offer?
Provide evidence that
relevant communities are
aware of a specific paper
 Provide evidence that a
relatively under cited
paper is having a research
impact
 Provide evidence of public
interest in…
 Indicate a pathway for
research to reach a wide
range of audiences
Compare readership of
articles across countries
Compare communities
discussing articles -
science communicators,
researchers, policy
makers, practitioner
communities…
Neylon, C., (2014) Altmetrics can signal flows of information for paths in scholarly communication not yet mapped. Impact of Social
Sciences. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/10/07/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/

32. Future of altmetrics?
…[these] numbers …are signals of the flow of
information down paths that we haven’t mapped.
• most exciting possibility…only just starting to
explore.
• who is using that information?
• correlation analysis can’t tell us this, but more
sophisticated approaches might
• with that information …could design scholarly
communication systems to maximise their reach,
value and efficiency
Neylon, C., (2014) Altmetrics can signal flows of information for paths in scholarly communication not yet mapped. Impact of Social
Sciences. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/10/07/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/

33. Open Access + Social Media
= Competitive Advantage
How can open access outperform its tenacious,
institutionalized competition, the traditional top-tier
journals?
Perhaps through its intimate relationship with social
media.
Blogging, tweeting, publicly discussing research > benefits
for scientists, journals, and even society, > increased
debate and transparency
Tabor, A., (2012) Open Access + Social Media = Competitive Advantage. http://tinyurl.com/pqrv4ds

34. James Balm, Social Media Assistant
BioMed Central
combining research & social media to deliver a message
that is accessible to everyone and make science exciting
draw significant attention to [specific] research papers
Facebook and Twitter, help bring approximately 25,000
visitors to BioMed Central research papers per month
engage / discuss important issues that affect the science
community and to discuss new research, its quality and
validity
*Open access and social media: helping science move forwards. Evidently Cochrane. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/pftvx5h

35. Recent Altmetrics conference in
London sponsored by Wellcome Trust
Presentations and review of conference:
http://tinyurl.com/ovfjods
http://tinyurl.com/palxkqk
Worth a visit

36. ScienceDirect – “social media” featured in
top 25 downloads in 2nd quarter of 2014
Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social
Media Business Horizons, Volume 53, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages
59-68 Kaplan, Andreas M.; Haenlein, Michael
Most downloads
Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix •
Business Horizons, Volume 52, Issue 4, July 2009, Pages 357-365
Mangold, W. Glynn; Faulds, David J.
3rd highest downloads
Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building
blocks of social media Business Horizons, Volume 54, Issue 3, May
2011, Pages 241-251 Kietzmann, Jan H.; Hermkens, Kristopher;
McCarthy, Ian P.; Silvestre, Bruno S.
7th highest downloads

37. Social media in academia?
So what! Why should I care?
I DON’T HAVE
TIME FOR THIS
I’LL PASS ON THIS ONE

38. Practical example of the use of
social media in an academic
context in order to highlight
research output

39. How are Rhodes University
librarians using social media
to raise research visibility?
http://www.ru.ac.za/library/

40. Putting it together

41.  @RhodesResearch Twitter account – articles, conference
papers, theses, reports of research, etc. are tweeted
regularly
 These are re-tweeted on subject-related Twitter accounts
 which are embedded in our Subject LibGuides – increase
visibility
 Subject blogs – monthly posting of research (presently
Science & Pharmacy) output with links to articles/papers
 which Rhodes Library Facebook & Twitter then advertise

42. @RhodesResearch - Twitter account
https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch
Initiated as an
experiment
in May 2013: with
sole purpose of
promoting Rhodes
research output

43. How is Rhodes research information
sourced by librarians?
Alerts to Rhodes-affiliated
research:
Other sources:
Web of Science
Scopus
EBSCOhost
Sabinet
ResearchGate
SAePublications
Academic department
websites & researchers
Rhodes University webpage
Media
Word of mouth
GoogleScholar author alerts

44. Article on publisher’s site
Use the DOI in the Twitter link to the article

45. Publisher’s website : “Share” options
Sharing is
facilitated by
the fact that
more and more
publishers are
including
‘share’ options
at article-level
– makes it so
much easier

46. Say it with a #hashtag!
Make your Tweets more visible
#RUIWR- example of
standardised hashtag
#tags for RU Science Depts
.
for academic
departments
Albany Museum #AlbanyMuseum
Biochemistry #RUBiochem
Biotech Innovation Centre
#RUBiotech
(RUBIC)
Botany #RUBotany
Chem #RUChem
ComSci #RUComSci
EBRU #RUEBRU
Env Sci #RUEnvSci
Geography #RUGeography
Geology #RUGeology
HKE #RUHKE
IWR #RUIWR
Maths #RUMaths
Pharmacy #RUPharm
Physics #RUPhysics
Stats #RUStats
Zoo #RUZoo

47. @RUBiochemnews follows
@RhodesResearch
Retweets from @RhodesResearch

48. @RULPharmNews follows
@RhodesResearch
@RULPharmNews
‘Follows’
@RhodesResearch
and re-tweets
relevant articles,
thus providing extra
exposure to RU
pharmacy research

49. Embedded ‘tweets’ in the
Pharmacy Subject Guide
Tweets appear
automatically in the
embedded RULPharmNews
twitter account

50. Faculty blogs post
monthly list of Rhodes research
http://rulscipharm.blogspot.com/

51. Rhodes Library Facebook page:
Advertising Rhodes Research
https://www.facebook.com/
RhodesUniversityLibrary

52. Rhodes Library Twitter site:
Advertising Rhodes Research

53. Interest in @RhodesResearch
288 followers ( as at 20 Oct 2014)
Rhodes students
About 20 Rhodes academics & support staff
Professional & Research organisations
Publishers / journal editors
Journalists / media organisations
Academic librarians (non-Rhodes)
Individuals (other than Rhodes students & staff)

54. @RhodesResearch followers:
Research & other organisations
No of followers
@EzemveloScience KZN wildlife (572)
@HSP_70 Scientific Resource (18)
@CSIR Council Science SA (2710)
@ASSAf_Official (179)
@SAPECS_TWEETS social-ecological systems (48)
@FormularyIE Irish Medicines (598)
@OWSD_SAWomen in Science (75)
@ISSF sustainable tuna fishing (4620)
@GreenMatterZA environmental (347)
@GreenLeagueZA environmental (118)
@SAStats (4458)

55. @RhodesResearch followers:
Research & other organisations
No. of followers
 @Research Africa Research funding (439)
 @SAYAS_SA Young Academy of Science (139)
 @ASSAf_Official Academy of Science SA (179)
 @ACEP_ZA Coelacanth programme (256)
 @agingandsociety US aging research (173)
 @NHLSBRC Bio-Resource Center (3)
 @ELIDZSTP1R&D facilities (26)
 @eoth_moz community-based conservation (592)
 @EiffelCorpSA educational technology (17)
 @prospectpredict business development USA (635)
 @DorringtonResGr microbiologists (20)
 @SASBi_Bioinf Society for Bioinformatics (132)

56. @RhodesResearch followers:
Publishers, journal editors, media
No of followers
 @SasjaSA SA Science Journalists' Association (475)
@Rhodes_JMS Rhodes School of Journalism (586)
@Ecquid_Novi African Journalism Studies (145)
@TheJournalistSA Context & history for key issues (454)
@alphagalileo breaking research news - London (2656)
@Awesomelastus journalist – Zambia (637)
@struandouglas freelance journalist (82)
@MakanaEdutouris promotes travel for learning (167)
@SciBraai features: SA research-technology-innovation (659)
@hwasser Prof of Media Studies – UCT (2094)

57. @RhodesResearch followers:
Publishers, journal editors, media
No of followers
 @cdnsciencepub scientific & technical journals (2562)
 @CG_Publishing academic publishers – Illinois, USA (99)
 @SAJS_Official SA Journal of Science (108)
 @sarahemilywild Science editor, Mail & Guardian (2592)
 @Steven_Lang journalist (260)
 Dalton Transactions Royal Soc Chem journal (2270)
 @Grocotts local newspaper (2180)
 @mishsolomon freelance journalist – Johannesburg (3817)
 @scientist_kenni Science Communicator – Cape Town (327)

58. @RhodesResearch followers:
Individuals – a selection
No of followers
 @Anneke1976 Programme Dir. Amsterdam Fringe Festival (925)
 @brocksaglio Canadian academic (Geography) (205)
 @pat_loria Academic library director (359)
 @RickMavrovich Global Executive Strategist (2920)
 @CazV7776 social worker (94)
 @JustinBlakeZA marine biologist (291)
 @kveerubhotla Pharmacist – India (14)
 @Morgs_John Scientist – Cape Town (39)
 @SarahGoodier open access proponent - UCT (784)
 @CarolineDean academic librarian – UCT (96)
 @gsulc UCT academic & education writer (220)
 @schwarzwild1 communications specialist – Germany (119)
 @BonnieAgea researcher, writer, commentator – Tanzania (180)
 26 Rhodes University academics / support staff

59. From research alert to the world!
“The retweet is one of the most commonly used tools
on Twitter, and is a great way to pass on interesting
tweets that you have read [to] your followers.”

60. Twitonomy site: retweets from
@RhodesResearch
http://twitonomy.com/

61. Twitter Analytics of Followers
https://analytics.twitter.com/about

62. Reaction from
Rhodes University community
Polite interest
Mild interest
Total disinterest
Faint enthusiasm
Scepticism
Implied ridicule
Thanks for doing this
Retweeting of tweets
Research items for
tweeting
Interest in using for
Department

63. Resulted in some
interesting
responses from
academics

64. Alerting researchers to the use of
Twitter to highlight their research
From: Eileen Shepherd [mailto:e.shepherd@ru.ac.za]
Sent: 11 September 2014 11:16 AM
To: ………………………………………
Subject: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Hi ………………..
Thought you might like to see your article is
featured on @RhodesResearch
https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch
regards
Eileen

65. Response from historian
From: …………………………………….
Sent: 11 September 2014 11:20 AM
To: 'Eileen Shepherd'
Subject: RE: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Wow, thank you. Very innovative of you
guys. Keep it up.
From: Eileen Shepherd [mailto:e.shepherd@ru.ac.za]
Sent: 11 September 2014 11:16 AM
To:………………………..
Subject: Crisis! What Crisis? The Multiple Dimensions of the Zimbabwean Crisis
Hi …………………….
Thought you might like to see your article is featured on
@RhodesResearch https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch
Regards
Eileen

66. Another example, with response:
Chemist
From: ………………….
Sent: 28 August 2014 04:59 PM
To: Eileen Shepherd
Subject: Re: MRSA pyruvate kinase inhibitory activity of synthetically derived thiazole
containing deoxytopsentin analogues
Thanks so much Eileen, this is quite exciting!
Kind Regards,
………………
On Thu, 2014-08-28 at 11:57 +0200, Eileen Shepherd wrote:
> Hi ……………………. >
> Thought you might like to know your article is featured on
> @RhodesResearch https://twitter.com/RhodesResearch
>

67. Some reflections regarding
@RhodesResearch experiment
Is it worth continuing?
Yes
Enhanced engagement
with research &
researchers
Time-consuming
An added dimension to job
responsibilities
But interesting
And stimulating
Provided an opportunity to
engage with developing
field of altmetrics

68. References
Balm, J., 2014. Open access and social media: helping science move forward. Evidently Cochrane.
http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/open-access-social-media-can-help-science-move-forwards/
Gunasekaran, S. & Arunachalam, S., 2014. The impact factors of open access and subscription journals
across fields. Current Science, 107(3), pp.380–388.
http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/107/03/0380.pdf
Hitchcock, T., 2014. Twitter and blogs are not add-ons to academic research, but a simple reflection of
the passion that underpins it. Impact of Social Sciences.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/07/28/twitter-and-blogs-academic-public-sphere/
Konkiel, S.P., 2014. The Imperative for Open Altmetrics. Journal of Electronic Publishing, 17(3).
Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3336451.0017.301
Macpherson, E., 2014. Four things policy-makers need to know about social media data and real time
analytics. Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/08/01/four-things-
on-social-media-data-for-policymakers/
Neylon, C., 2014. Altmetrics: What are they good for? | PLOS Opens.
http://blogs.plos.org/opens/2014/10/03/altmetrics-what-are-they-good-for/
Tabor, A. 2012. Open Access + Social Media = Competitive Advantage.
https://www.mysciencework.com/news/6350/open-access-social-media-competitive-advantage
Wing, K., 2014. Scientists across disciplines must get to a better agreement on social media metrics.
Impact of Social Sciences. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/09/29/what-are-scientists-doing-
on-twitter/
Woolman, J. 2014. Social media outcomes in academia: engage with your audience and they will
engage with you. Impact of Social Sciences.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/09/24/social-media-outcomes-academia/

69. Thank you for listening!
Please Follow @RhodesResearch
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