This paper presents preliminary results on the analysis of tweets to journal articles in the field of Dentistry. We present two case studies in which we critically examine the contents and context that motivate the tweeting of journal articles. We then focus on a specific aspect, the role played by journals on self-promoting their contents and the effect this has on the total number of tweets their papers produce. In a context where many are pushing to the use of altmetrics as an alternative or complement to traditional bibliometric indicators. We find a lack of evidence (and interest) on critically examining the many claims that are being made as to their capability to trace evidences of 'broader forms of impact'. Our first results are not promising and question current approaches being made in the field of altmetrics.
@article{arxiv.1707.06675,
title = {Tweeting about journal articles: Engagement, marketing or just gibberish?},
author = {Nicolas Robinson-Garcia and Rakshit Trivedi and Rodrigo Costas and Kimberley Isett and Julia Melkers and Diana Hicks},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1707.06675},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Paper accepted for oral presentation at the STI 2017 Conference held in Paris (France)