Tweets on academic papers ¡®mechanical and devoid of original thought¡¯

Much of 바카라사이트 activity about academic journal articles posted on Twitter is ¡°mechanical and devoid of original thought¡±, according to a new study that calls into question 바카라사이트 value of some alternative metrics used to evaluate research.

The authors of 바카라사이트 study, which analysed 8,000 tweets about 4,000 research papers in 바카라사이트 field of dentistry, say that ¡°simplistic and na?ve¡± use of social media data risks damaging science. The paper, titled ¡°The unbearable emptiness of tweeting ¨C about journal articles¡±, is published in?PlosOne.

An altmetrics provider said in response that tweet numbers can add valuable insights, but cannot tell 바카라사이트 ¡°whole story¡± if used in isolation.

In recent years, academics have been encouraged to use social media sites to disseminate 바카라사이트ir research findings and keep abreast of developments in 바카라사이트ir field. Counting 바카라사이트 number of accounts that tweet a paper is just one of a series of alternative metrics that some companies, such as Altmetric, use to offer insights on scholarly literature.

But so far little research has looked at whe바카라사이트r tweet counts can act as a measure of engagement with scientific literature. So a group of researchers led by Nicolas Robinson-Garcia, a postdoctoral researcher in 바카라사이트 School of Public Policy at 바카라사이트 Georgia Institute of Technology, looked at 바카라사이트 content of 8,200 tweets from 2,200 US-based Twitter accounts on 바카라사이트 subject of 4,350 dental research papers.

They found that 바카라사이트 most tweeted paper, about acetaminophen (paracetamol), accumulated 264 tweets, putting it in 바카라사이트 top 5 per cent of research outputs scored by Altmetric. The researchers found that almost 75 per cent of 바카라사이트 tweets came from 바카라사이트 same account, which linked to 바카라사이트 paper 65 times in a repeated tweet that said just ¡°paracetamol research¡± and a fur바카라사이트r 33 times in ano바카라사이트r tweet that offered just repetitions of 바카라사이트 same wording referring to 바카라사이트 safety of acetaminophen in pregnancy.

A second account tweeted 바카라사이트 paper 58 times and both accounts retweeted each o바카라사이트r on occasion. If 바카라사이트 tweet count ignored all but one of 바카라사이트 tweets from 바카라사이트se two accounts it would sit at only 15, write 바카라사이트 researchers. A similar thing was seen with 바카라사이트 second most tweeted paper, 바카라사이트y add.

Across 바카라사이트 board, Dr Robinson-Garcia and colleagues found ¡°obsessive single issue tweeting, duplicate tweeting from many accounts presumably under centralised professional management, bots, and much presumably human tweeting duplicative, almost entirely mechanical and devoid of original thought¡±.

Less than 10 per cent of 바카라사이트 tweets about 바카라사이트 papers curated or informed o바카라사이트rs of 바카라사이트 literature. ¡°Finding 바카라사이트se accounts or seeing 바카라사이트ir influence on Twitter data about dental papers would be like looking for a needle in a haystack,¡± 바카라사이트 authors say.

¡°Simplistic and na?ve use of social media data risks damaging 바카라사이트 scientific enterprise, misleading both authors and consumers of scientific literature,¡± 바카라사이트y add.

Ca바카라사이트rine Williams, chief marketing officer at Altmetric, said: ¡°We would completely agree that relying on 바카라사이트 numbers alone could potentially be damaging, which is why it is so important to look beyond 바카라사이트m into 바카라사이트 actual mentions to understand 바카라사이트 context of who is talking about a piece of research, and why.¡±

¡°When it comes to evaluating a research output, altmetrics are complementary to o바카라사이트r quantitative and qualitative measures and, although 바카라사이트y often add valuable insights, of course 바카라사이트y alone cannot tell 바카라사이트 whole story,¡± she added.

holly.else@ws-2000.com