Information included in any grant proposal is information on the impact of your research. Usually this is measured through the journal impact factor for the journals you've published in or, on a more personal level, by your h-index. But the citations needed for these numbers can take years to accrue, while with the advent of the internet and especially social media, communications about articles have become more direct, quicker and more easily measurable. How? By using Altmetrics.

What are Altmetrics?

Altmetrics are a measuring tool whose numbers can be added to the more traditional metrics to create a more up-to-date picture of the impact of your work and form a faster feedback loop than is possible using just traditional scholarly communication. Altmetrics are measured through looking at information gathered from a number of online sources, such as social media, social reference managers, blogs and other informal forms of communication.

Altmetrics and Social Media

One way to ensure your work is out there is to establish a social media presence yourself. Whether to build up an online presence and in what form on which platforms is entirely dependent on your wishes and personality. You may be a little leery of putting yourself out there or unsure which platform would best suit your needs. One of the aims of this blog is to introduce you to different platforms and their benefits and disadvantages.

To learn more about altmetrics please visit our Altmetrics page in the In-depth section of the blog, where you'll find background information and further links.