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.

For this week’s TL;DR Shorts episode we are once again joined by George Dyson, an American historian of technology and science who is best known for his work in the history of computing and his exploration of the intersection between science, technology, and society. As an author and communicator of research, we asked him how he feels this field has changed over time.

George reminisces about a time when the sharing of research was a big and prestigious event, full of celebration and wonder. While access to cutting edge research was minimal back in this era, George feels that its exclusivity led to higher engagement with the latest goings on, with lectures being delivered by the researchers themselves.

This is something that George values, as he feels that hearing about the outcomes of research and the journeys taken to achieving such results are most effective in achieving their goals of engagement when delivered by the person that has done the research. He goes on to say that, while we are blessed to live in a world full of information, and an army of people creating research related content, he feels that the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming to the general public, who may not know where to start consuming it all.

George would also like to see more researchers doing more communication work. Many of our previous TL;DR Shorts contributors have said that until we change our incentives and professional evaluation systems to reflect the importance of communication and engagement with research, no value will be placed on this important task and researchers will continue to overlook this step. This reduced visibility and understanding could result in plenty of research being overlooked when it could hold the key to unlocking many solutions to society’s challenges.

Subscribe now to be notified of each weekly release of the latest TL;DR Short, and watch the entire series here. 

If you’d like to suggest future contributors for our series or suggest some topics you’d like us to cover, drop Suze a message on one of our social media channels and use the hashtag #TLDRShorts.

The post TL;DR Shorts: George Dyson on communicating research appeared first on Digital Science.

Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, is pleased to announce that BIMM University has chosen Figshare to support the sharing, showcasing and management of its non-traditional research outputs (NTROs).

BIMM University is a leading specialist creative arts institution. It prepares students for a sustainable career in the creative industries, with students studying popular music, performing arts, filmmaking and creative technology courses that are vocational in design. Dedicated to staying at the forefront of technological innovation, BIMM drives forward-thinking initiatives such as AI_Labs, exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative expression. The university is multi-campus, with eight campuses based in ‘creative capitals’ across England, Ireland, and Germany.

BIMM University will use its Figshare repository to share their NTROs and make them discoverable for a global audience. Research at the University primarily focuses on creative arts and industries practices and as the university grows and its research output increases, it aims to establish a centre of excellence in utilising professional practice as a foundation for research and Support staff to produce and disseminate nationally and internationally recognised research outputs, including text, practice, and artistic artefacts.

BIMM University will benefit from Figshare’s industry-leading capabilities for handling a huge variety of research outputs, especially NTROs and its unique in-browser preview capabilities that will share and showcase its creative practitioner research outputs effectively.

“I am delighted to be working with Figshare to showcase the work of our students and staff. BIMM University has a longstanding reputation for its focus on preparing its students for sustainable careers in the creative industries and we feel that Figshare will provide our students, staff and alumni with the perfect platform to share their creative outputs with the world,” said Professor Mark Irwin, Deputy Provost and Director of Postgraduate Studies.

Mark Hahnel, Figshare Founder and Digital Science’s VP, Open Research said: “We’re thrilled to welcome BIMM University and to work with them on showcasing their fantastic work in a Figshare-powered repository platform. It’s great to see another arts-focused organization join the Figshare community and further encourage open research for the arts.”

About BIMM University  

At BIMM University, we provide an extensive range of courses in modern music, performing arts, filmmaking, and creative technology to over 8,000 students across 14 schools in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. We have a long-standing commitment to providing the highest quality in creative industries education, allowing students to maximise their career potential.

For 40 years, we’ve equipped our students with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the demands of the creative industries – and graduate feeling industry-ready. Beyond academic life, BIMM University offers a community built on a shared passion, creativity, and belief system. Our inclusive culture is at the core of everything that we do, binding us together and driving us forwards.

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 contacts

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

The post BIMM University chooses Figshare to showcase its non-traditional research and creative practitioner outputs appeared first on Digital Science.

From VIVO to verified profiles: How the University of Oxford built a robust research expertise search portal

The University of Oxford has been a Symplectic client since 2009. Recently, the University expanded its long-standing Symplectic Elements instance by implementing the Discovery Module, creating a new Research@Oxford expertise search portal. David Saunders, Research Information Analyst, and Martin Carrolchick, Research Information Officer, presented at the 2023 European User Day in London on the context and implementation of the new portal.

An essential aspect of
improvement is enhancing the
completeness of profile data, as it boosts confidence in the system.”

This case study, taken from the presentation, describes: 

• New opportunities for the university through public profiles
• Background & context of the Oxford Research Finder (ORF) project
• Why Oxford transitioned from VIVO to Elements to host its public profiles
• The road to implementation

Download whitepaper

University of Oxford:
Implementing Symplectic Elements as an expertise search solution

The post University of Oxford: Implementing Symplectic Elements as an expertise search solution appeared first on Digital Science.

Digital Science, a technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, is pleased to announce that Cranfield University has selected Symplectic Elements from Digital Science’s flagship products to manage its research information outputs and activities.

Cranfield University is unique within the UK HEI sector as an exclusively postgraduate University which has distinctive expertise in science, technology, engineering and management and how these work together to benefit the world. The University partners with businesses, academia, government and organisations around the world to deliver applied research and innovative education in Aerospace, Defence and Security, Energy and Sustainability, Environment and Agrifood, Leadership and Management, Manufacturing and Materials, Transport Systems and Water.

Symplectic Elements was selected following a comprehensive tender process to identify a Current Research Information Management System (CRIS) that would store, manage, and showcase its research publications, researcher profiles and associated activities. Cranfield was seeking a solution that would allow it to ingest and link data from multiple sources, seeing their research outputs in context, which supports their REF submission process.

“We chose Symplectic Elements as it offers a comprehensive solution that aligns perfectly with our specific research management needs,” said Tim Wales, University Librarian at Cranfield University. “Its ability to efficiently organise research outputs, manage researcher profiles, and seamlessly integrate with internal and external systems, coupled with features like internal research assessment support and flexible self-service reporting, make it the ideal choice for showcasing and managing our research activity effectively. It will also significantly reduce the amount of research administration time expended by our researchers, professional staff and librarians compared to our old system.”

“We are thrilled to be selected by Cranfield as their trusted partner for managing their research information needs,” said Jonathan Breeze, CEO of Symplectic. “We look forward to collaborating with Cranfield and contributing to its vision of delivering transformational research that meets the needs of business, government and wider society.”

For further information please contact:

Media Relations, Cranfield University
T: +44 (0) 1234 75 4999
Email: mediarelations@cranfield.ac.uk

About Cranfield University

Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management. The most recent Research Excellence Framework results demonstrate Cranfield University’s excellence with 88% of research rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

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 contact

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

The post Cranfield University selects Symplectic Elements to manage research activity and REF submissions appeared first on Digital Science.