Explainer · Plain-language
What are altmetrics?
Altmetrics (alternative metrics) capture the online attention a research output receives — mentions in news, policy documents, social media, blogs, and reference managers — as a complement to traditional citation counts.
The step most authors miss
Doing CRediT right? Don’t stop at the statement.
A CRediT statement credits you inside one paper. The recognition CRediT was built for happens when those roles are tied to you, persistently. Sign in with your ORCID — free — and claim your CRediT contributions on casrai.org, the home of the standard. They become a verified, portable part of your identity, not a line that disappears into one PDF.
Free: claim your contributions, then export a journal-ready CRediT statement, schema.org structured data, JATS XML, CSV or BibTeX — and preview your public profile. A membership publishes that profile publicly and verifies the journals you serve.
What altmetrics measure
Citations are slow to accrue and capture only scholarly use. Altmetrics track a broader and faster range of signals: mentions in news outlets and policy documents, posts on social platforms, blog coverage, Wikipedia references, and saves in tools such as Mendeley. They show where and how research is being discussed beyond the literature.
Who provides them
The two best-known aggregators are Altmetric (whose colourful "donut" badge weights different attention sources) and PlumX (owned by Elsevier, grouping metrics into usage, captures, mentions, social media, and citations). Publishers and repositories often display one of these alongside articles.
Attention is not quality
A high altmetric score means a paper is being talked about — which can reflect importance, but also controversy, novelty, or even error. Altmetrics measure attention, not validity or significance. They should be read as a complement to, not a replacement for, peer review and citation analysis.
Responsible use and the Leiden Manifesto
The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics (2015) sets out ten principles for the responsible use of quantitative indicators — including that quantitative evaluation should support, not supplant, expert judgement, and that metrics must account for context. Those principles apply to altmetrics as much as to citations, alongside the broader reform agenda of DORA and CoARA.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: indicators of online attention to research
- Sources: news, policy, social media, blogs, reference managers
- Providers: Altmetric (the "donut"), PlumX
- Measures: attention and reach — not quality or validity
- Guidance: Leiden Manifesto (2015), ten principles
- Relationship: complements citations; aligned with DORA / CoARA caveats
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: A high altmetric score means high-quality research.
Actually: No — altmetrics measure attention, which can stem from importance but also controversy or novelty. They do not measure validity, rigour, or quality.
Often heard: Altmetrics replace citations.
Actually: No — they complement citations by capturing faster, broader, non-scholarly attention. Both should be used responsibly alongside expert judgement.
Going deeper
