Slides from a talk given by Dr Helen Dixon to research students at Queen's University Belfast

1. Using social media to enhance
your research profile
Dr Helen Dixon
@SocialMediaQUB
Tweets
Wikipedia
Blogs
Comments
Likes
Shares
Views
Downloads
Clicks
Reddit
Figshare
Citations
Altmetrics
ResearchGate Academia
Impactstory
Google Scholar

2. How can you
make sure
that your
research gets
noticed and
disseminated
online?
@SocialMediaQUB
https://socialmediaqub.wordpress
.com/2016/03/01/how-to-get-
your-research-noticed-online/

3. 1. Establish a strong
ONLINE profile

4. The name of
the game is
to present
oneself, via
one’s tweets,
posts, likes,
comments,
and shares, in
the light in
which one
aspires to be
viewed.
http://philosophyforchange.wordpress
.com/2012/07/26/foucault-and-social-
media-the-call-of-the-crowd/
@SocialMediaQUB

5. Where should you start?
Introduction to social media for researchers

6. ORCID
“open, non-profit,
community-based
effort to provide a
registry of unique
researcher
identifiers and a
transparent method
of linking research
activities and
outputs to these
identifiers”
http://orcid.org/
@SocialMediaQUB

7. Impactstory
“open-source, web-
based tool that helps
scientists explore and
share the diverse
impacts of all their
research products—
from traditional ones
like journal articles, to
emerging products like
blog posts, datasets,
and software.”
https://impactstory.org/
@SocialMediaQUB

8. 2.Make your
research
accessible
http://libguides.qub.ac.uk/openaccess

9. As an academic you have
information and expertise
to share
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

10. BLOGGING can help you reach a
broader audience and establish your
reputation as an expert
https://socialmediaqub.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-starting-a-blog/
@HelenDixon10
@SocialMediaQUB

11. Consider making all the products
of your research accessible
Presentations Posters Datasets
Visual content Code Media

12. figshare
“repository where users
can make all of their
research outputs
available in
a citable, shareable and
discoverable manner”
http://figshare.com
@SocialMediaQUB

13. 3. Create SHAREABLE
content
How can you
make your
research more
engaging?
@SocialMediaQUB

14. Relevant imagery can make
your research information
more shareable
Use diagrams to translate
findings into a format
suitable for non-academic as
well as academic audiences
@SocialMediaQUB

15. Use data
visualisation or
infographics to
present your
findings in a
succinct and
innovative
manner
@SocialMediaQUB

16. Storytelling is an
excellent way to
add shape and
meaning to your
data and convey
the potential
impact of your
findings
@SocialMediaQUB

17. 4.Track
your reach
@SocialMediaQUB

18. Google Scholar and Alerts
Use My Citations in Google
Scholar to keep track of citations
and compute citation metrics
Access via My Citations at
https://scholar.google.co.uk/
You can make your profile public,
so that it appears in Google
Scholar results when people
search for your name
Set up GoogleAlerts for your
name or key words related to your
research
http://blog.impactstory.org/make-google-scholar-
better/
@SocialMediaQUB

19. Altmetrics
“the creation and study of new metrics based
on the Social Web for analyzing, and
informing scholarship”
http://www.altmetric.com/about-altmetrics/
Complement existing bibliometrics such as
impact factor and h-index
Alternative + metrics
@SocialMediaQUB

20. What can we measure?
Altmetrics
Academic
significance
Public
attention
Professional
impact
Policy
influence
Usage
•Views, downloads, clicks
Captures
•Bookmarks, favorites
Mentions
•Blog posts, comments, reviews
Social media
•Likes, shares, Tweets
Citations
•PubMed Central, Scopus, patents
http://plumanalytics.com/learn/about-metrics/
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

21. Advantages over traditional metrics
• Real-time measures of attention
and feedback
Allow data to be
collated easily from
various sources
• Access to comments, location of
users, networks
Can include contextual
information
• Policy makers, practitioners, public
Measure attention
from outside academia
• Blogs, videos, datasets,
software…..
Incorporate a diverse
range of ‘products of
research’
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

22. Altmetrics do not replace citations!
Citations Altmetrics
Altmetrics may
not correlate with
citations as they
reflect attention
from audiences
who may not
necessarily cite
@HelenDixon10
@SocialMediaQUB

23. Value to research
Navigation and
tracking
• Enhance literature
search
• Stay informed of
recent publications
• Follow research
trends based on
up-to-date metrics
of article impact
• Identify potential
collaborators
Assessment
• Get timely
feedback on how
research has been
received
• Identify and assess
wider engagement
outside of
academia
• Support other
impact
measurements
Process
• Benchmark and
monitor article
performance
• Share metrics with
others, e.g. funders
• Use evaluations
and feedback to
inform future
decisions and
project design
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

24. Altmetrics enable scientists to see
ripples generated by their research
that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Roberta Kwok
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7463-491a
@SocialMediaQUB

25. Limitations of altmetrics
Impact vs attention
• Quantity does not equal quality
Lack of standards for reporting
• Differences between scoring or rating systems
Vulnerability to gaming
• System can be manipulated easily by automated
bots
@SocialMediaQUB

26. Use altmetrics to
identify success
stories or to support
other indicators of
impact
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

27. Altmetric.com
Altmetric for librarians
“track and analyse the online activity
around scholarly literature”
• Policy documents
• Mainstream media
• Blogs
• Online reference managers
• Peer-review forums
• Social media
• Wikipedia
• YouTube
• Publisher download data
Score is based on
the quantity and
quality of posts
@SocialMediaQUB

28. Using altmetrics to enhance your
profile
Establish a professional online profile and researcher ID
Research the altmetrics that are currently being used
in your area
Find out what altmetrics are available for your
publications and other products of research
Incorporate altmetrics in your CV and online profiles
• ResearchGate,Academia.edu, LinkedIn, Blogs, Web pages
Share your successes on your profiles andTwitter!
@SocialMediaQUB

29. Altmetric Bookmarklet
Using theAltmetric Bookmarklet
@SocialMediaQUB

30. 5. Nurture
your
network

31. Engaging with the right people
• Engage with stakeholders early and keep them informed
• Identify blockers and try to address their concerns
Analyse
stakeholders
• Who plays a significant role in the stakeholder
community?
• Who already has an established online presence &
network?
Encourage
influencers
• Use social media to reach out to diverse groups
• Maintain communications to nurture key relationships
Build
networks
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

32. Knowledge
exchange
2-way
dialogue
Informal
learning
Timely
feedback
Networking
Use social media to engage with
stakeholders
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

33. How can you
incorporate social
media into your
knowledge
exchange strategy?
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

34. Doing it right!
Discuss your ideas with your supervisor
Read the University’s Social Media Policy
Respect copyright and link to or cite sources
Respond to comments andTweets
Remain professional at all times!
@SocialMediaQUB
@HelenDixon10

35. Further resources
•Introduction to social media for researchers
•How to get your research noticed online
•Social media for researchers
•Strategies to GetYour Research Mentioned Online
•UsingTwitter™ to Drive Research Impact: A Discussion
of Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges
@SocialMediaQUB