The term 'altmetrics' was coined in the 2010 'altmetrics manifesto' by Priem, Taraborelli, Groth and Neylon. Providers (Altmetric.com, PlumX, Impactstory and others) aggregate signals at the article level rather than the journal level. Altmetrics complement citation-based metrics by surfacing engagement that may precede or never appear as citations. Methodological cautions apply: signals can be gamed, are platform-dependent and reflect attention rather than quality; coverage is uneven across disciplines, languages and geographies. Used responsibly, altmetrics support case-study narratives and impact tracking.
References
- Priem J, Taraborelli D, Groth P, Neylon C. 'Altmetrics: A manifesto', 2010 (altmetrics.org). Sugimoto C et al. 'Scholarly use of social media and altmetrics' JASIST 2017.