J. Chang1, N. Desai1, A. Gosain1,2 1University of Tennessee Health Science Center,Division Of Pediatric Surgery, Department Of Surgery,Memphis, TN, USA 2Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital,Division Of Pediatric Surgery,Memphis, TN, USA
Introduction: The impact of a scientific manuscript has traditionally been measured by the impact factor of the journal it is published in and the number of times it is cited. However, citations have a lag period before the true impact of a manuscript can be determined. The Altmetric score has emerged as a measure of the digital dissemination of a scientific manuscript across multiple platforms, including Tweets, Facebook likes, and other social & popular media mentions. We hypothesized that Altmetric score would correlate with citations and journal impact factor in Pediatric Surgery.
Methods: Using the previously identified the fourteen core journals of Pediatric Surgery, the top ten most-cited articles from each of these journals were identified for the year 2012, allowing for 5+ years of follow-up. For each article, we determined the number of times cited and the Altmetric score. For each journal, the 2012 impact factor and year in which the journal’s Twitter account was established was determined. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients were determined using GraphPad PRISM software.
Results: Citation information for n=140 articles was obtained. Articles were cited 56159 times (Median 192, IQR 83-403). Median Altmetric score was 8 (IQR 2-58). Citations correlated strongly with journal impact factor (r=0.82, p<0.0001). Altmetric score did not correlate with journal impact factor (r=0.08, p=0.32). Altmetric score weakly correlated with citations (r=0.189, p=0.03) with wide variability amongst journals (range -0.21 to 0.96). When analyzed on an individual journal basis, decreasing age of a journal’s Twitter account resulted in decreasing correlation between Altmetric score and citations (r=-0.299, p=0.0003).
Conclusion: This study is the first to link traditional bibliometric measures with newer measures of digital dissemination for publications in Pediatric Surgery. While the Altmetric score of the top cited manuscripts did not correlate with journal impact factor, it did weakly correlate with citations. Interestingly, this correlation was strongest for journals with well-established Twitter accounts, indicating that, over time, the Altmetric score may emerge as a tool to predict future citations. Currently, the Altmetric and traditional bibliometric measures appear to have distinct, but complementary roles in measuring dissemination and impact of scientific manuscripts in Pediatric Surgery.
