Altmetrics: New Indicators for Scientific Communication in Web 2.0

This paper presents a review of altmetrics or alternative metrics. This concept is defined as the creation and study of new indicators for analysing scientific and academic research activity based on Web 2.0. The underlying premise is that variables such as mentions in blogs, number of tweets or saves of an article by researchers in reference management systems, may be a valid measure of the use and impact of scientific publications. In this respect, these measures are becoming particularly relevant, being at the centre of debate within the bibliometric community. Firstly, an explanation is given of the main platforms and indicators for this type of measurement. Subsequently, a study is undertaken of a selection of papers from the field of communication, comparing the number of citations received with their 2.0 indicators. The results show that the most cited articles within recent years also have significantly higher altmetric indicators. Next follows a review of the principal empirical studies undertaken, centering on the correlations between bibliometric and alternative indicators. To conclude, the main limitations of altmetrics are highlighted, alongside a reflective consideration of the role altmetrics may play in capturing the impact of research in Web 2.0 platforms.