Article-level metrics (ALMs) were popularised by PLOS from 2009 as a deliberate counter to journal-level reasoning about research impact. ALMs disaggregate journal-level proxies into article-specific evidence, recognising that within any journal there is wide variation in citation and attention outcomes. A typical ALM dashboard includes citation counts from multiple databases, full-text views, PDF downloads, social-media mentions, reference-manager saves, policy citations and discussion (blogs, comments). DORA's first recommendation is to move evaluation toward article-level evidence.
References
- PLOS Article-Level Metrics documentation. Lin J, Fenner M. 'Altmetrics in evolution', Information Standards Quarterly, 2013.