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About Altmetrics

The Stats tab on a report's catalog page shows the number of total PDF downloads, downloads by country, and Altmetrics.

But what are Altmetrics? Researchers strive to show the impact that their papers, books, and datasets are having beyond citations. Altmetrics (alternative metrics) were created to address this need by locating and measuring attention to research from traditional and non-traditional media sources. Each indicator employed by this system can shed light on how a piece of research is read, reused, and built upon.

The Altmetric score is based on the amount of attention the report receives from social media and mainstream news media. As more people mention it, the score rises. However, each source contributes a different base amount to the final score. For instance, a newspaper article contributes more than a tweet. This data gives valuable insight as to who is reading these reports and how they are being shared. This information then reveals the scope of the report's reach and influence, and allows researchers to learn more about their audience.

The Altmetric Donut

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

Altmetric Donut for A Framwork for K-12 Science Education

The Altmetric "donut" is a fun visualization of the number and types of mentions a report has received in the media. And this is only a snapshot of the data available. Follow the donut to the Altmetrics website to see a report's full statistics, including links to all of the mentions cited above, and get an in-depth view of what people are saying about the report.

Read more about Altmetrics from Altmetric themselves »