Alternative Perspectives on the Impact of Arctic Research

To what extent are audiences around the world engaging with Arctic research? Public and government support is vital for securing long-term funding, but traditional bibliometrics such as citation counts and journal-level indicators do little to demonstrate how the research produced is being shared and received amongst a broader audience.

This study examines the altmetrics data -- online attention to individual research outputs from sources including public policy outlets, the mainstream media, social networks and other scholarly and non-scholarly platforms -- for Arctic research over a 2 year period. The results show where this research is having an influence on public policies around the world, and enable us to gather valuable insights into how scientific findings are being communicated by international press outlets.

We then evaluate the extent to which these data can be used to support future funding applications, inform outreach, engagement and communication strategies, and to help forge new collaborations, both geographical and disciplinary.