An Introductory Review of Altmetrics

Abstract

Advancements in the Internet and information communication technology have motivated researchers to frequently seek and use online information. In addition, the diverse development of social network has substantially changed the methods of scholarly communication. Therefore, the use of the traditional citation-based academic evaluation can no longer reflect the true academic influences of a digital environment. Consequently, conventional and innovative metrics were combined to create new academic evaluation indicators. In response to the development of open access, digital publishing, and big data, novel indicators for Scholarly Communication in web 2.0 called “Altmetrics” emerged. In this study, we explored the origin and developmental process of Altmetrics, focusing on the characteristics, indicator types, data sources, and analytical tools. Furthermore, we described the current challenges in Altmetrics and examined the effects of Altmetrics on library and information science research and library management. The objective of this study was to provide researchers insight into the research domain of Altmetrics to facilitate the development of related studies in the future.

Keywords

• Altmetrics
• Webometrics
• Scholarly communication
• Academic evaluation
• Social network