Article type
Abstract
Background: Scientific publications have been growing exponentially, contributing to an "infodemic," as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantifying the impact and reach of scientific research cannot be solely measured by traditional metrics like citation counts as these have a lag time and are largely focused on an academic audience. There is increasing recognition to consider "alternative metrics" or altmetrics to measure the more immediate and broader impacts of research. Better understanding of altmetrics, including media coverage of scientific outputs, can help researchers better navigate evolving information environments and changing appetites for different types of research.
Objectives: Our study aims to: 1) analyze the amount and medium of recent health research media coverage produced by Irish academic researchers (2017–2023) and to identify changes in the coverage over time (eg, pre-, during, and –post pandemic). We will investigate differences in the amount of coverage between clinical areas (eg, nutrition versus neurology) and, where possible, by study types (eg, clinical trials versus evidence syntheses).
Methods: Using Altmetric institutional access, we will gather data on all research outputs published between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2023 from academic researchers affiliated with at least 1 of 9 Irish universities. Outputs will be deduplicated and stratified by their Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification relating to at least 1 field of research in biomedical sciences: Biological Sciences, Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Psychology. Data will be cleaned using R, and descriptive analyses will be performed, establishing counts and frequencies of coverage by clinical area and medium (eg, traditional news, Facebook, X, etc.); data will be plotted on a quarterly and yearly basis. All R code will be made available open source to allow other researchers with Altmetric institutional access to evaluate their local landscapes.
Potential Implications: Pilot searches yielded 91,257 research outputs from 9 universities, of which 76,283 received some sort of attention. Mapping media coverage can help researchers better understand and navigate complex and changing information environments, allowing for a more intentional approach to science dissemination to the public.
Objectives: Our study aims to: 1) analyze the amount and medium of recent health research media coverage produced by Irish academic researchers (2017–2023) and to identify changes in the coverage over time (eg, pre-, during, and –post pandemic). We will investigate differences in the amount of coverage between clinical areas (eg, nutrition versus neurology) and, where possible, by study types (eg, clinical trials versus evidence syntheses).
Methods: Using Altmetric institutional access, we will gather data on all research outputs published between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2023 from academic researchers affiliated with at least 1 of 9 Irish universities. Outputs will be deduplicated and stratified by their Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification relating to at least 1 field of research in biomedical sciences: Biological Sciences, Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Psychology. Data will be cleaned using R, and descriptive analyses will be performed, establishing counts and frequencies of coverage by clinical area and medium (eg, traditional news, Facebook, X, etc.); data will be plotted on a quarterly and yearly basis. All R code will be made available open source to allow other researchers with Altmetric institutional access to evaluate their local landscapes.
Potential Implications: Pilot searches yielded 91,257 research outputs from 9 universities, of which 76,283 received some sort of attention. Mapping media coverage can help researchers better understand and navigate complex and changing information environments, allowing for a more intentional approach to science dissemination to the public.