Presence of Research Outputs of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Social Media: An Altmetric study

Altmetrics indicators can be used alongside traditional bibliometric concepts based on citation analysis to evaluate the impact of scientific publications via the web. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of articles of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in social media to determine the interests of the researchers via social media.

This descriptive study was performed using Altmetric indicators. The statistical population of the study included 3757 research outputs, published by faculty members and researchers of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in the Scopus citation database from 1992 to the end of 2018. No sampling was performed and all the research outputs were included in the study as a sample size. Excel and SPSS were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that out of 3757 research outputs, 665 outputs (18%) were shared at least once in tools and social networks and had Altmetrics Attention Scores (AAS). Mendeley was one of the most-mentioned social media sites (631 articles, 16.79%). In terms of professional status, Mendeley readers were mostly master students (4594 people). In total, users in more than 64 countries tweeted the research outputs 9707 times. There was a significant positive relationship between Altmetric indicators and citation numbers of the research outputs (P<0.001).

Social media has a positive effect on societal impact and increases the citation rate of scientific research outputs. Therefore, the affiliated researchers can increase their citations, impact and visibility by sharing their work on social media, particularly Mendeley.