Wednesday 15 October 2025

In a major step forward for tracking the real-world impact of research, Digital Science today announces that Altmetric has added a new attention source: Podcasts.

Altmetric is the first in the world to include podcasts among its measures of research impact.

Podcasts will now be reflected in the distinctive Altmetric Badges – appearing as a purple color – as well as in Altmetric Attention Scores, with more detail displayed in Altmetric Explorer.

In addition to podcasts, Altmetric’s many attention sources include select social media channels, news, blogs, public policy sites, patents, clinical guidelines, and more.

A complete view of research influence

Miguel Garcia, VP of Product, Digital Science, said: “Altmetric is about tuning in to where research conversations are really happening, and understanding how that research is being received, discussed, debated, and shared. A complete view of research influence isn’t possible without podcasts.

“With Altmetric podcast tracking, we recognize that these real-world conversations play a critical role in shaping public understanding and acceptance of research. Podcasts add rich, narrative-driven evidence to the impact story, offering a more complete view of research influence across scholarly, professional, and public domains.

“With more than half a billion people listening to podcasts for information, and at a time when podcasts are growing as a communication and educational platform, we feel the moment is right to include these conversations as an attention source. Publishers, academics, industry, governments, and funders will all now benefit from better understanding the impact of research.”

Benefits of podcast tracking

By adding podcasts as an attention source, Altmetric will enable users to:

• Strengthen reporting on research impact
• Capture a broader, more complete attention landscape
• Gain deeper public engagement insights
• Diversify research impact data sources

All user segments within the research ecosystem will benefit from Altmetric’s podcast tracking:

• Academics: Strengthen submissions that demonstrate the real-world impact and influence of research
• Enterprise: Identify emerging Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and track therapeutic-area conversations, even outside traditional publishing
• Publishers: Highlight where journals are discussed in accessible, mainstream forums that boost author engagement
• Funders: Ensure research funded is making an impact in broader public discourse, justifying investment

About Altmetric

Altmetric is a leading provider of alternative research metrics, helping everyone involved in research gauge the impact of their work. We serve diverse markets including universities, institutions, government, publishers, corporations, and those who fund research. Our powerful technology searches thousands of online sources, revealing where research is being shared and discussed. Teams can use our powerful Altmetric Explorer application to interrogate the data themselves, embed our dynamic ‘badges’ into their webpages, or get expert insights from Altmetric’s consultants. Altmetric is part of the Digital Science group, dedicated to making the research experience simpler and more productive by applying pioneering technology solutions. Find out more at altmetric.com and follow @altmetric on X and @altmetric.com on Bluesky.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, Overleaf, ReadCube, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit digital-science.com and follow Digital Science on Bluesky, on X or on LinkedIn.

Media Contact

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Podcasts now count towards research impact in world first for Altmetric appeared first on Digital Science.

Introduction

Success in scientific publishing has long been measured by citations and impact factors. Yet in today’s Medical Affairs landscape, the definition of value is shifting rapidly. This article recaps insights from the recent panel discussion “The Future of Research Visibility: Beyond Traditional Metrics,” where experts from across the field explored how publication success is evolving, which new measures of impact matter most, and how digital transformation and AI are reshaping the game.

Bringing a wealth of diverse perspectives, the panel featured Shehla Sheikh, Head of Medical Communication & Publications at Kyowa Kirin; Kim Della Penna, Scientific Communications Director for Lymphoma, Myeloid, and Multiple Myeloma at Johnson & Johnson; Myriam Cherif, Founder of Kalyx Medical and former Regional Medical Director at GSK; and Carlos Areia, Senior Data Scientist at Digital Science. The discussion was moderated by Natalie Jonk, Enterprise Marketing Segment Lead, who guided the conversation through the critical challenges and opportunities shaping the future of research visibility.

Success: Still a moving target

Defining success remains one of the greatest challenges. For some organizations, it’s still as simple as getting the data published. For others, success means shaping clinical guidelines or influencing real-world decision-making.

Kim explained:

“A lot of these tools help us see who is engaging with our publication. Are they sharing the publication, did they find it important enough to share? Where is the data being incorporated? Is it being used in policy and guidelines, cost data, real-world healthcare data or by population health decision makers for access?”

Myriam emphasized how the lens has broadened over the past decade:

“A decade ago, people just looked at impact factors and citations. Now, we discuss with HCPs how data applies to patients. Sometimes a paper may be more practical for certain regions. We’ve moved toward a more holistic approach.”

Metrics beyond the traditional

Today, a wealth of data is available, but the challenge is deciding which metrics are truly meaningful. Downloads, mentions, and social media shares are only part of the story.

Carlos noted the complexity:

“Things are changing quite fast with data. How do you track success when different publications have different goals? Sometimes the goal is to see how quickly new studies get into clinical guidelines. Other times, it’s about reaching a very specific group of oncologists in one country.”

Sentiment analysis is also emerging as a key tool:

“We can now see if a publication has been well or badly received by, for example, a group of cardiologists. Medical Affairs is adapting rapidly to what real-time data can offer,” Carlos added.

The discoverability dilemma

Shehla raised a critical issue: ensuring publications are findable by the right stakeholders.

“Discoverability is super important. A lot of data ends up in supplementary indices, which aren’t always accessible. If it’s not directly available through the paper, that’s problematic. It raises the question: how much do we include in the main publication versus holding back for supplementary materials?”

The difficulty, she argued, isn’t just in publishing but in making materials trackable. Without DOIs or identifiers, measuring performance across channels becomes impossible.

Carlos emphasized that when any content type, including supplementary data, infographics, and plain language summaries, is uploaded to Figshare and assigned a DOI, it becomes both accessible and trackable.  This is a critical step that several Digital Science customers are already using to monitor and demonstrate the impact of their materials and gain really deep insights regarding who is engaging with their content.

Formats and channels that resonate

Visual and digital formats are transforming scientific communication. With tools like Altmetric and Figshare, it’s now possible to track which content resonates with different audiences,  for example, whether visual abstracts work best for patients, short videos for junior doctors, or news platforms or Medscape for senior clinicians.

Key takeaways from the discussion included:

• Infographics and visual abstracts help make complex data more digestible for both HCPs and patients.
  
• Social media engagement, accelerated since COVID-19, has expanded the demographic reach of publications.
  
• Podcasts, YouTube, and blogs are emerging as alternative channels for research dissemination.

Shehla summarized the opportunity:

“Data visualization has been a game changer. It helps people understand complex results without dumbing them down. But it has to be a true representation of the data.”

Strategic decision-making with engagement data

Engagement data is no longer just descriptive – it’s strategic.

Myriam explained:

“This data helps us know which publications to amplify and in what format. If a subgroup analysis is relevant for Asia or South America, we integrate it into the regional strategy. Affiliates want to know how to use this data locally, whether in slides or field medical materials.”

Carlos added an example of reverse engineering success:

“We worked with a partner who had two trials presented at the same congress. One made it into a guideline in a specific country much faster than the other. By looking back at the local attention it had on social media, news and others, we tried to understand why.”

The future: AI, social media, and trust

Looking ahead, AI and digital platforms are set to further disrupt how success is measured.

Myriam highlighted new challenges:

“Citations and downloads will matter less. AI tools are already being used by HCPs to answer questions on diseases and treatments. But a recent study showed less than 15% overlap in references across Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity when asked the same question. Metadata and referencing are going to be critical to ensure our publications are being picked up correctly.”

Kim added:

“We need to optimize what we create so AI can pick up data through correct tagging. Who is engaging, what types of data they’re engaging with, and what channel they use – these are all factors we have to plan for.”

Carlos cautioned on the risks:

“AI is a wonderful tool if used correctly – but like computer scientists used to say: it’s ‘garbage in, garbage out’. AI is very confident even when it’s wrong. The real value comes from using the right data together with AI to help people understand it better and extract the needed insights from it, whilst mitigating its potential for misuse and misinformation.”

Conclusion: Toward a holistic, dynamic view of impact

As the panel made clear, measuring publication performance can no longer be reduced to a single number. Success is multi-dimensional, context-specific, and evolving alongside technology and stakeholder expectations.

Traditional metrics such as citations and impact factors remain useful, but they are no longer sufficient. Engagement data, sentiment, and discoverability are now central to understanding whether a publication truly resonates and reaches its intended audience. At the same time, AI, social media, and new digital formats are reshaping how, and by whom research is consumed. And sometimes, the most meaningful measures are the informal ones: when medical scientific liaisons hear health care professionals discussing a paper, when KOLs reference it unprompted, or when data directly influences patient care.

A call to reframe success

The future of publication success will depend on Medical Affairs teams embracing this broader, more dynamic definition of impact. By combining rigorous traditional metrics with innovative digital measures, and by ensuring content is discoverable, trackable, and presented in accessible formats, organizations can create lasting value. Most importantly, reframing success around real-world influence and patient outcomes ensures that research doesn’t just get published, it makes a difference.

Continue the conversation

At Digital Science, we’re committed to helping Medical Affairs professionals thrive in an era where research visibility and impact are being redefined. To deepen the insights shared in this panel, we invite you to explore our latest white paper, “Empowering Medical Affairs in the Digital Age,” authored by thought leader Mary Ellen Bates. Inside, you’ll find practical strategies to navigate evolving challenges, demonstrate value, and drive measurable outcomes.

Mary Ellen Bates will also be leading our upcoming webinar, “From Data Chaos to Strategic Impact: Transforming Medical Affairs in the Digital Age” (Tuesday 28 October 2025).

The post How experts are redefining research visibility beyond traditional metrics appeared first on Digital Science.

Tuesday 2 September 2025

Digital Science is pleased to announce that Altmetric, which captures the online attention of research, has introduced a new AI-powered sentiment analysis feature, to provide research teams with deeper insights into the public response and impact of their work on selected social media platforms.

Now available in Altmetric Explorer, Altmetric’s AI-powered Sentiment Analysis has been robustly refined to explore the sentiment towards the use of research, thanks to the work of Digital Science Senior Data Scientist Dr Carlos Areia and Head of Data Insights Mike Taylor, in consultation with the research community.

Mike Taylor said: “Impactful research deserves the best possible insights. Our new Sentiment Analysis feature gives some meaning to numbers, leveraging advanced technology to interpret and visualize the sentiment behind mentions on key social media platforms, and brings the potential to turn raw data into actionable insights for members of the research community.”

Using AI to assign scores to mentions, it was possible to create a spectrum of sentiment for given research outputs. By capturing a whole range of reactions and discourse on social media, sentiment analysis supports research teams to better understand how their work is being received and engaged online across different audiences.

“There are many potential benefits from these new insights, including the opportunity for research teams to refine their approach to research publication, communication and dissemination plans,” Taylor said.

Key Features of Altmetric Sentiment Analysis

• Sentiment Scoring: Automatically assigns a sentiment score to individual social media mentions (ranging from strong negative to strong positive).
• Sentiment Breakdown Charts: Visualize sentiment trends with clear and concise graphical representations. Research teams can quickly identify changes in perception and respond accordingly.
• Filtering by Sentiment: Narrow down results in the Altmetric Explorer by sentiment type, allowing users to focus on specific aspects of discussions most relevant to their strategy or goals.

Amye Kenall, Chief Product Officer, Digital Science, said: “The inclusion of Sentiment Analysis into Altmetric data is an important step in helping users get real insight from Altmetric data, enabling researchers and organizations to understand how their publications are being received, discussed and used. Digital Science is committed to using AI responsibly and ethically in ways that drive more value to our users but also protect the community we serve. We’re pleased to bring this feature to our Altmetric Explorer users.

“Medical affairs professionals, academic researchers, scholarly publishers, and R&D specialists alike can fully explore the ‘how and why’ behind their impact, leveraging these insights to maximize the visibility and effectiveness of their published research.”

About Altmetric

Altmetric is a leading provider of alternative research metrics, helping everyone involved in research gauge the impact of their work. We serve diverse markets including universities, institutions, government, publishers, corporations, and those who fund research. Our powerful technology searches thousands of online sources, revealing where research is being shared and discussed. Teams can use our powerful Altmetric Explorer application to interrogate the data themselves, embed our dynamic ‘badges’ into their webpages, or get expert insights from Altmetric’s consultants. Altmetric is part of the Digital Science group, dedicated to making the research experience simpler and more productive by applying pioneering technology solutions. Find out more at altmetric.com and follow @altmetric on X and @altmetric.com on Bluesky.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, OntoChem, Overleaf, ReadCube, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit digital-science.com and follow Digital Science on Bluesky, on X or on LinkedIn.

Media Contact

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Altmetric adds Sentiment Analysis to social media tracking appeared first on Digital Science.

New Catalyzing Collaboration report highlights US and Canadian success stories in an information age

Monday 25 November 2024

A new report lays out a blueprint for success for universities and industry partners alike, with a focus on leveraging universities’ research expertise and facilities to support industry needs.

The report – Catalyzing Collaboration: How Research Information Management Systems Drive Academic-Industry Partnerships – has been published today by Symplectic, a trusted provider of information management solutions.

Using case studies from the University of Toronto and the Ohio Innovation Exchange (OIEx), the report explores how advanced research information management systems can:

• enhance the discoverability of research expertise and facilities
• foster industry partnerships
• drive meaningful collaborations both internally and externally
• increase their positive impact on the economy and society.

The University of Toronto’s DiscoverResearch portal and the Ohio Innovation Exchange utilize Symplectic Elements to showcase their research expertise and assets. The report outlines how both platforms are successfully transforming the way industry partners engage with academic expertise.

In the report, Derek Newton, Assistant Vice-President, Innovation, Partnerships and Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto, says: “Where companies have a challenge, they have a topic, their next step is: how do they identify the right people? That’s where DiscoverResearch comes in.

“DiscoverResearch is a really amazing new tool that helps industry navigate this very big institution – there are over 16,500 affiliated researchers, across multiple domains, and it allows a visitor to find all those types of researchers and to reach out.”

In the report, Jeff Agnoli, Senior Liaison, Corporate Partnerships, Ohio Innovation Exchange, speaks of the benefits for industry and local economies: “We leverage Elements’ ability to list affiliated faculty on each record so our industry partners can quickly identify potential collaborators’ profiles; recently we added a new category so that we can list certificate programs for employers interested in upskilling their workforce. This full catalog is incredibly impactful to current/potential industry partners, new faculty, as well as those we are trying to recruit.”

Digital Science’s Executive Vice President of Academic Markets, Jonathan Breeze, says: “Industry-university collaborations offer a huge range of benefits for both parties, including de-risking investment in future research. As highlighted by our latest report, the challenge of finding appropriate partners is also a shared problem and it’s great to see how Digital Science technology is helping form new connections that deliver real-world impact.”

The report contains details about:

• industry-academic collaboration
• the growing role of tech transfer
• how to enable connection and collaboration
• maximizing value from university assets and equipment
• training researchers to meet industry standards and needs
• the digital infrastructure underpinning success at the University of Toronto and the Ohio Innovation Exchange

The report concludes: “Looking to the future, the institutions that embrace these strategies will not only secure greater funding and partnership opportunities but will also create a lasting legacy of research impact, helping to foster economic growth, address global challenges, and support research excellence.”

About Symplectic

Symplectic works in pursuit of the advancement of knowledge, delivering flexible information management solutions that help universities, institutions and funders achieve their research goals.

Symplectic Elements is a highly configurable platform which ingests data from multiple sources to build a truly comprehensive picture of scholarly data and activities. With over 20 years’ experience and 130 clients, Symplectic Elements is trusted by universities, institutions and research organizations around the world.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, OntoChem, Overleaf, ReadCube, Scismic, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contact

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Bridging the industry-university divide pays off for mission-driven institutions appeared first on Digital Science.

Altmetric adds Clinical Guidelines as an attention source for publications

Tuesday 19 November 2024

Digital Science is pleased to announce that its flagship product Altmetric, which gauges the online attention of research, has added a new attention source: Clinical Guidelines.

The new attention source will enable Altmetric to track the impact of research in clinical practice. Clinical Guidelines will be reflected in the distinctive Altmetric Badges – appearing as an aqua green color – as well as in Altmetric Attention Scores, and will appear in more detail in Altmetric Explorer.

Clinical Guidelines complement Altmetric’s full breadth of attention sources, including social media, news, public policy and documents, academic forums, blog sources, patents and more.

As documents that offer recommendations for clinicians and healthcare practitioners on how to manage and treat specific medical conditions or support decision-making in patient care, Clinical Guidelines are a critical source of attention to demonstrate real-world impact.

By adding Clinical Guidelines as an attention source, Altmetric will enable users to:

• See the practical applications of medical research – Discover how a piece of research has gone from conception to practical application with Clinical Guidelines data and assess its long-term impact on the field.
• Inform funding decisions with real-world evidence of clinical practice – See where funding has made a tangible real-world impact with Clinical Guidelines data.
• Identify the right journals driving innovation in the medical field – Identify which journals contribute most to Clinical Guidelines, informing publication strategy. 

Altmetric users will be able to see attention from Clinical Guidelines from today.

Amye Kenall, Vice President of Product, Data & Analytics Hub, Digital Science, said: “Tracking research referenced in Clinical Guidelines is a major step forward in understanding the impact of that research and its translation into healthcare.

“This will be of particular interest to medical affairs professionals, research funding bodies, and to academic and clinical researchers and their institutions, helping them better understand the practical applications and long-term impact of their research.

“By adding Clinical Guidelines data to our data sources, we’re enabling users to see the highest form of clinical impact of medical and health research.”

About Altmetric

Altmetric is a leading provider of alternative research metrics, helping everyone involved in research gauge the impact of their work. We serve diverse markets including universities, institutions, government, publishers, corporations, and those who fund research. Our powerful technology searches thousands of online sources, revealing where research is being shared and discussed. Teams can use our powerful Altmetric Explorer application to interrogate the data themselves, embed our dynamic ‘badges’ into their webpages, or get expert insights from Altmetric’s consultants. Altmetric is part of the Digital Science group, dedicated to making the research experience simpler and more productive by applying pioneering technology solutions. Find out more at altmetric.com and follow @altmetric on X.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, OntoChem, Overleaf, ReadCube, Scismic, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contact

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Altmetric now tracks clinical impact of research appeared first on Digital Science.

The post University of Toronto: Enhancing research visibility and industry collaboration with public profiles appeared first on Digital Science.

Researchers and institutions in Qatar are now directly sharing their outputs with the world thanks to Manara, the research repository by Qatar National Library.

Powered by Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, Manara was launched in 2022 to serve as a digital archive of Qatar’s research.

Leveraging the platform, Qatar National Library aims to ensure the long-term preservation of the nation’s knowledge and its dissemination to the rest of the world.

As of the start of Open Access Week 2024, Manara has become home to more than 6,300 research outputs from 25 institutions, serving over 106,000 downloads and 174,000 views across 149 countries worldwide – predominantly from the United States, Qatar, and several European countries – highlighting the international impact of the project. 

The platform continues to grow, with two prominent Qatar-based research institutions recently signing up to share their outputs and make Manara their institutional repository, namely the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).

The repository incorporates traditional research outputs – such as articles and monographs – as well as non-traditional outputs – such as datasets, conference proceedings, posters and presentations, and multimedia galleries. The team at QNL is also leveraging Manara’s functionality to further support Green Open Access initiatives, with the publication of preprints in the repository.

Marcin Werla, Director of Digital Collections at Qatar National Library, said Manara contributes a great deal to the Library’s mission to preserve Qatar’s research outputs for future generations, and to share that knowledge with the world. “Interest in Manara has been steadily growing since the platform’s launch two years ago, as evidenced by our expanding partnerships and increased global visibility,” Mr Werla said.

Mark Hahnel, Figshare Founder and Digital Science’s VP, Open Research, said: “It’s incredibly pleasing to see Qatar National Library becoming a champion of open research both locally and within the region. It’s my hope that QNL’s infrastructure solution, in the form of Manara, could inspire other institutions within Qatar to join, as two others already have, as well as inspiring other countries in the region to follow the same path. It’s critically important that local knowledge is preserved and shared for the benefit of society, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing with the growing number of outputs and the growing visibility for those outputs on Manara. Qatar has an even brighter open research future ahead, with the opportunity for green OA initiatives and the publication of preprints in the repository.”

Find out more about Manara: https://www.qnl.qa/en/manara-repository/about

About Qatar National Library

Qatar National Library acts as a steward of Qatar’s national heritage by collecting, preserving, and making available the country’s recorded history. The Library provides equal access to all types of information and services and aims to enable the people of Qatar to positively influence society by creating an exceptional learning and discovery environment.

His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, officially inaugurated Qatar National Library on 16 April 2018. The Library was granted the status of national library under the Amiri Decree No.11 of 20 March 2018.

About Figshare

Figshare, a Digital Science Solution, is a provider of institutional repository infrastructure. Our solutions help institutions share, showcase and manage their research outputs in a discoverable, citable, reportable and transparent way. We support institutions in meeting the growing demands for research to become open, freer, FAIRer and more connected. We provide the flexibility and control for you to create research management workflows that work for you. We take care of implementation, updates, security and maintenance – ensuring you and your researchers can always depend on your repository, leaving you to focus on what really matters; research and its impact on the world.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, OntoChem, Overleaf, ReadCube, Scismic, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contacts

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Qatar’s research extends its global reach with Figshare-powered repository appeared first on Digital Science.

Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, is pleased to announce that Queen’s University Belfast has chosen Figshare as its new repository platform to store, showcase and manage its research data and theses outputs.

Queen’s – a prestigious Russell Group UK university and ranked in the top 250 universities in the world – chose Figshare as its new repository platform owing to a selection of core features and functionality that will support the team in creating proficient research management workflows for its outputs.

Notably, Queen’s had an interest in providing an accessible submission page for theses that didn’t require users to have an existing account or relationship with the platform they were submitting to – a use case Figshare supports with its option of a non-logged-in submission page.

Queen’s was also looking for a platform that would be able to handle the upload and storage of large files, particularly in regards to the growing need for research data sharing. The existing publications-focused repository in place at Queen’s lacked the flexibility needed to support the breadth and size of some research data being produced, and Figshare was identified as a suitable alternative platform to support this, with its 5TB upload limit on single files.

The team at Queen’s also saw the potential of Figshare’s flexible API and hope to be able to utilize its functionality to assist in their reporting and integration needs. As the new repository project at Queen’s evolves, the intention is to set up an integration between its CRIS system (Pure) and the Figshare repository, to create a joined-up environment and a comprehensive research management workflow. This will drive the visibility and potential impact of open research data and theses outputs.

Jane O’Neill, University Librarian, Academic Services at Queen’s, said: “The ability to issue persistent identifiers (e.g. DOIs) to our thesis content will be facilitated by the new Figshare repository. This is an exciting development, which will ensure that content is more FAIR-enabled (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable). Assigning DOIs to digital content is probably the most important element to achieving FAIR, ensuring permanence, persistent identification and helping other researchers cite the work of our authors.

“Improvements in terms of the scale and scope of the new repository will also benefit the look and feel of its content, including access controls for datasets, ensuring for the first time that we have a specifically dedicated thesis and data repository, designed and developed overtly for this unique type of content.”

Mark Hahnel, Figshare Founder and Digital Science’s VP of Open Research, said: “It’s wonderful to see the prestigious Queen’s University Belfast choose Figshare to support the open and FAIR sharing of research data for its research community. I’m also thrilled that the Figshare-powered repository will be used to showcase Queen’s theses, with the platform’s capabilities lending itself to such a broad range of disciplines; I’m very much looking forward to seeing the breadth of research that will be shared in the new repository.”

About Queen’s University Belfast

A member of the Russell Group UK’s 24 leading research-intensive universities, Queen’s University Belfast is an international centre of research and education, with a student-centred ethos. Queen’s is ranked 4th in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024), 2nd in the UK for entrepreneurial impact (Octopus Ventures, 2022) and in the top 150 in the world for research quality (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024). Queen’s is also ranked 85th in the world in the Times Impact Rankings 2023.

About Figshare

Figshare, a Digital Science Solution, is a provider of institutional repository infrastructure. Our solutions help institutions share, showcase and manage their research outputs in a discoverable, citable, reportable and transparent way. We support institutions in meeting the growing demands for research to become open, freer, FAIRer and more connected. We provide the flexibility and control for you to create research management workflows that work for you. We take care of implementation, updates, security and maintenance – ensuring you and your researchers can always depend on your repository, leaving you to focus on what really matters; research and its impact on the world.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, metaphacts, OntoChem, Overleaf, ReadCube, Scismic, Symplectic, and Writefull – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contacts

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

The post Queen’s University Belfast to launch Figshare-powered repository to share, showcase and manage its research data and theses appeared first on Digital Science.

Monday 24 June 2024

Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, today announces an exciting new tranche of data that throws light on how and why research cuts through to society at large – in the shape of the Altmetric 500.

A decade on from the first Altmetric Top 100 reports, which listed the most influential academic articles in a given year, a leading provider of alternative metrics for published research is now releasing an upgraded overview of research engagement: the Altmetric 500.

The Altmetric 500, which analyses the attention for scholarly articles published in 2023, covers over 50 research categories – representing different fields of research (FoR), geographies and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and reflects activity across 11 different attention sources, including:

• News articles
• Academic citations
• Policy citations
• Blogs
• Wikipedia pages
• X (Twitter) profiles

“We are delighted to release the Altmetric 500, enabling us to recognize and highlight some of the most influential articles of the year. By extending the scope of the Altmetric 500 to fields of research, countries and even SDGs, we will provide a real flavour of what research has been generating interest and discussion in many different areas,” says Cat Williams, Managing Director of Digital Science’s Data & Analytics Hub.

“A key feature of attention to research is that some outputs can gain attention in one area while being barely acknowledged in another. We can see this in the Altmetric 500, and it really serves to demonstrate how relying on a wider range of indicators is really important for gathering more comprehensive insights,” Ms Williams says.

“The overall aim for the Altmetric 500 is to provide a new way to explore the different meanings of ‘attention’ to research, highlighting the various impacts of research across different channels, platforms and cultures.”

Analysis of the Altmetric 500 highlights (data updated 24 June 2024):

• Harvard University and the University of Oxford feature most frequently, with 12 top articles across the 500 categories in 2023 for Harvard, and 11 for Oxford. The University of Toronto had 9.
• Springer Nature is the most influential publisher with 81 category-leading publications, ahead of Elsevier (53) and Taylor & Francis (48).
• The European Research Council (ERC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are the most successful funders, with ERC supporting 14 top publications and NSFC supporting 13.

Through the rest of 2024, Altmetric and Digital Science will explore these impacts and provide examples and use cases for how the data can be leveraged to provide unique insights into research outcomes.

For more information, you can read a blog published by Altmetric on the new initiative: https://www.altmetric.com/blog/varied-layers-of-attention-the-altmetric-500/

For those who wish to delve into the data, the full enriched dataset is available on Figshare here: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25047692.v2

Or you can download the enriched dataset by using this link: https://figshare.com/ndownloader/files/47212108

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, ReadCube, Symplectic, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Overleaf, Writefull, OntoChem, Scismic and metaphacts – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

About Altmetric

Altmetric is a leading provider of research metrics, helping everyone involved in research gauge the impact of their work. We serve diverse markets including universities, institutions, government, publishers, corporations, and those who fund research. Our powerful technology searches thousands of online sources, revealing where research is being shared and discussed. Teams can use our powerful Altmetric Explorer application to interrogate the data themselves, embed our dynamic ‘badges’ into their webpages, or get expert insights from Altmetric’s consultants. Altmetric is part of the Digital Science group, dedicated to making the research experience simpler and more productive by applying pioneering technology solutions. Find out more at altmetric.com and follow @altmetric on X.

Media contacts

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

Note: This press release was updated on 24 June 2024 to reflect the most up-to-date data available from the Altmetric 500 dataset.

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Driving a data-informed research culture

Recognising the growing need to articulate and evaluate the impact of its research, UTS launched the Distilling Research Impact initiative in 2018, which seeks to embed research impact assessment into the fabric of UTS’ research lifecycle. This case study explores UTS’ approach to embedding and demonstrating research impact through the initiative, and its use of Symplectic Elements and other Digital Science tools to support its data collation processes and embed a culture of impact into daily workflows.

Digital Science has supported UTS in our data informed decision-making, storytelling and streamlining the research lifecycle in an increasingly complex research environment. Our relationship with Digital Science goes beyond this as one of our most receptive and trustworthy partners.”

Sofia Haidar

Deputy Director, UTS Research Office

This case study covers:

• How UTS is building and utilising ongoing impact case studies to demonstrate the tangible outcomes of its research endeavours.
• Reflections on how to culturally embed the importance of impact throughout the research lifecycle, and how to engage researchers and faculty in the ongoing collation of data.
• Preparations for the next Engagement and Impact Assessment following the Australian Universities Accord.
• UTS’ long-time strategic partnership with Digital Science.

University of Technology Sydney: Distilling Research Impact using Symplectic Elements

Download whitepaper

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Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, is pleased to share the news that University College London (UCL) has launched a new public profiles system, UCL Profiles, powered by Symplectic Elements.

UCL is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities, championing independent thought through its diverse global community since 1826.

UCL Profiles (Profiles) is a publicly accessible search and discovery platform for UCL staff and doctoral researchers. It replaces UCL’s previous system, IRIS.

UCL has used Symplectic Elements (known locally as Research Publications Service or RPS) as a publications management system since 2009. UCL Profiles now allows its academics to showcase their activities, collaborations, industry partnerships, publications, and more. At launch, UCL’s profiles pages include biographical information, research, teaching, engagement and publishing activities. 

“UCL has been a valued Symplectic Elements client since 2009, predating our integration into the broader Digital Science family,” said Jonathan Breeze, CEO of Symplectic. “The timely dissemination of research activity and expertise within an organisation the size of UCL requires a great deal of care and planning and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Profiles team beyond the initial launch of Profiles.” 

You can read more about the implementation of Profiles as part of the UCL Change Builders blog series.

About UCL

UCL is a modern, outward-looking institution, committed to engaging with the major issues of our times. One of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities, UCL is a true academic powerhouse – as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables.

About Symplectic

Symplectic works in pursuit of the advancement of knowledge, delivering flexible research management solutions that help government and federal departments, funding organisations and academic institutions achieve their research goals. Its flagship products include Symplectic Elements, a research information management system that captures, analyses and showcases scholarly activities, and Symplectic Grant Tracker, providing specialist tools to streamline the grants management lifecycle.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, ReadCube, Symplectic, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Overleaf, Writefull, OntoChem, Scismic and metaphacts – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contacts

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

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Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, is pleased to announce that Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) is launching a new Figshare-powered institutional repository to share its creative research outputs. 

Using Figshare, IADT will be able to effectively share and showcase its abundance of arts-focused research outputs, increasing the discoverability of the research and ensuring researchers receive credit for all of their work. 

IADT will benefit from Figshare’s support for over 1200 different file types and unique in-browser preview capabilities, which will enable them to showcase their non-traditional research outputs while maintaining best practices for FAIR and open research sharing. 

Jane Buggle, Institute Librarian at IADT, said: “We selected Figshare as our institutional repository because we felt it was the ideal platform to showcase the full range of IADT’s creative and scholarly outputs. Our staff and students are engaged on projects as diverse as film, design, creative computing, sound engineering, model making, arts and humanities. Figshare enables us to showcase this diversity on a fully accessible and searchable platform with an attractive interface.

“IADT has a range of archives and special collections which will each have a discreet landing page within our Figshare instance. We are at an early stage of our implementation but already colleagues across the Institution are seeing the opportunities that Figshare offers in terms of research, teaching and learning. It’s an exciting time for the Institute!”

Figshare Founder and Digital Science’s VP Open Research, Mark Hahnel, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with IADT on a Figshare repository for their creative research outputs. It’s exciting to see another leading arts-focused institution join the Figshare community and commit resources to the sharing, showcasing and management of creative outputs, an area of growing importance in open research.”

You can discover IADT’s new Figshare-powered repository illustro here. 

About Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT)

IADT is unique. Ireland’s only institute of art, design and technology with a specific focus on the creative cultural and technological sectors, when you visit IADT you’ll discover a campus alive with ideas, innovation and entrepreneurial activity.

Programmes in both the Faculty of Film, Art + Creative Technologies and the Faculty of Enterprise + Humanities are unique in that they combine practical, transferable skills with academic learning. And because we believe in being active in research and practice, our students get to work with fantastic staff, many of whom are internationally acclaimed in their fields. Our fresh, modern campus in Dún Laoghaire is currently home to over 2500 students and staff.

About Figshare

Figshare is a repository solution for institutions. Its infrastructure and global community provide institutions with a platform for their researchers to share and preserve their research outputs – including large datasets – in a findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) way. Complete with altmetrics and citation data, researchers get credit for all their outputs. Figshare is part of Digital Science. Visit www.figshare.com  and follow @figshare on X or LinkedIn.

About Digital Science

Digital Science is an AI-focused technology company providing innovative solutions to complex challenges faced by researchers, universities, funders, industry and publishers. We work in partnership to advance global research for the benefit of society. Through our brands – Altmetric, Dimensions, Figshare, ReadCube, Symplectic, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Overleaf, Writefull, OntoChem, Scismic and metaphacts – we believe when we solve problems together, we drive progress for all. Visit www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on X or on LinkedIn.

Media contact

David Ellis, Press, PR & Social Manager, Digital Science: Mobile +61 447 783 023, d.ellis@digital-science.com

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