Altmetric is a prevailing alternative metric that captures the “online mentioning” of research output from different sources (e.g. news, social media, patents, policy documents, multimedia platforms, blogs, etc.), thus providing “evidence” to demonstrate “Research Impact” beyond the academia. The “evidence” is both “quantitative” through the Altmetric Scores and “qualitative” through the links to the mentioning sources that enable researchers to identify “who”, “what”, “why” and “where” about the mentioning to trace the breadth and depth of their impact. Altmetric is available in CityU Scholars (Guide).
Read more: What is Altmetric and what does it provide?
| A 3-min video on "What are altmetrics?" |
To track the online attention surrounding a specific research piece, Altmetric requires three key elements:
After identifying a mention of the research, Altmetric gathers it with all other online attention and displays it via the Altmetric Details Page together with the Donut and Attention Score.
Read more: Introduction to the Details Page
Reference: https://www.altmetric.com/about-us/our-data/how-does-it-work/
The Altmetric Badge (Donut) provides an at-a-glance summary of the volume and type of attention a research output has received. The donut's different colors represent the sources from which the mentions of the research output originated.
The Altmetric Attention Score, positioned at the center of the badge, provides an indicator of the amount of attention that it has received. The score is a weighted count derived from an automated algorithm. Only the FIRST mention from a source counts towards the score.
Read more: Introduction to the badge | How are outputs scored? | How is the Altmetric Attention Score calculated? | Attention sources tracked by Altmetric
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| A 1-min video explains Altmetric Badge and Attention Score | Each color in the Badge represents a different source of attention |
By understanding Altmetric mentions across various platforms, researchers can assess the diverse influence and engagement of their research output.
* Different tools and platforms may have different coverage. To ensure a more comprehensive tracking of cited policy documents, please also use Overton which is a database dedicated to policy citations.
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A sample record: The chemistry of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets |
In CityU Scholars, the Altmetric badge  , if available, appears next to the research output record on the result list. Hovering over the badge reveals a summary box displaying the number of mentions or readers for each type of attention received by the research output. Clicking on the badge directs you to the record page on the Altmetric website.
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Clicking on the research output title within CityU Scholars opens up the record page. Similar to the Altmetric badge, hovering over the Altmetric button  triggers the display of a summary box. If you click through the button, you will be taken to the record page on the Altmetric website for more detailed information.
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| On the Altmetric website, you can view sources that mention the research output by clicking on the different-colored buttons in the left panel. Alternatively, you can use the tabs for the same purpose.
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| Below is an example to illustrate how it appears when you click on the "Patents" tab. By clicking through the patent titles, you can access each of the 41 patents that have cited this research output.
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