PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Peer-review science is taking off on Twitter, but who is tweeting what and why?

2013-12-09
(Press-News.org) Contact information: William Raillant-Clark
w.raillant-clark@umontreal.ca
514-343-7593
University of Montreal
Peer-review science is taking off on Twitter, but who is tweeting what and why? The most tweeted peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2012, and the trends associated with their social media success, have been identified by Stefanie Haustein at the University of Montreal's School of Library and Information Science. She and her colleagues from the US, UK and Germany took 1.4 million articles held in the PubMed and Web of Science databases and determined how many times they appeared on Twitter. "Being based on 1.4 million documents, this is the largest Twitter study of scholarly articles so far," Haustein said. The top two were articles on the effect of radiation on humans, and the top 15 includes articles on acne in teenage athletes, penile fracture, and the links between physical activity and mortality rates. Number 12 was in fact an article on autism by Laurent Mottron, a professor at the University of Montreal. The findings were published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST).

The study looked at tweets that were directly related to the peer-reviewed article in question. The tweets either contained a link directly to the article in a scientific database or contained highly specific bibliographic information that would enable anyone to find the study immediately (such as DOI or PMID numbers).

The analysis shows that a high number of tweets does not correspond to a high number of citations in peer-reviewed journals – a method of measuring impact that is generally accepted by the scientific community. As a result, the number one article on the list of researchers, dealing with an altered gene during radiation exposure, was tweeted 963 times but only received nine academic citations. An article on a similar topic, in the wake of the Fukushima explosion, had 30 citations compared to its 639 tweets. "The most popular scientific articles on Twitter stress health implications or have a humourous or surprising component. This suggests that articles having the broadest scientific impact do not have the widest distribution," Haustein said.

The study was supervised and co-authored by University of Montreal Professor Vincent Larivière, holder of the Canada Research Chair on the Transformation of Academic Communication. "For the time being, Twitter cannot be considered a good marker of scientific impact – but it could indicate a certain social impact. When we look at the top articles, many have a surprising or humourous character. Articles are often tweeted anecdotally," Larivière said.

The traditional way of calculating the impact of a scientific article is based on the number of citations it has received in other scientific articles – it reflects impact on the scholarly community of citing authors. Peer review ensures a certain level of quality. "In the case of social networks, anyone can mention an article to anyone, there is no quality control," Haustein said.

Nonetheless, even if two-thirds of the tweeted articles were mentioned only once, Twitter is increasingly used to disseminate scientific articles. Over the three years studied, there was an increase in the proportion of articles cited on the network, reaching 20.4% in 2012. And despite the general finding regarding the number of citations, many of the articles most mentioned on Twitter are from journals such as PNAS, Science, Nature, The Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine. The journal that received the most tweets was Nature, with 13,430 mentions of 1,083 papers (42%).

The researchers point out that the recent evolution of social networks offers new prospects for scientific communication. "The fact that more and more articles are tweeted is good news because it helps scientific communication. Regardless of whether non-scientists are sending this information, it proves that science is an aspect of general culture," Larivière said. Barely 15% of university graduates in Quebec are active on Twitter. The researchers would like to question scientists' resistance to the social network as a tool for communications. "Considering the correlations revealed from our sample [...], we assume that the number of mentions on the Twitter network is not a good indicator of an article's impact. This could be due to many factors, including the fact that Twitter is not yet very popular among researchers and that the viability of Twitter as a tool for scientific communication remains underestimated," the authors wrote.

### The Twitter Top 15 Peer-Reviewed Studies 1. Hess et al. (2011). Gain of chromosome band 7q11 in papillary thyroid carcinomas of young patients is associated with exposure to low-dose irradiation Hess is affiliated with German Research Center for Environmental Health. 2. Yasunari et al. (2011). Cesium-137 deposition and contamination of Japanese soils due to the Fukushima nuclear accident. Yasunari is affiliated with the Universities Space Research Association, Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research 3. Sparrow et al. (2011). Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips. Sparrow is is affiliated with Columbia University. 4. Onuma et al. (2011). Rebirth of a Dead Belousov–Zhabotinsky Oscillator. Onuma is affiliated with Mito Dai-ni Senior High School. 5. Silverberg (2012). Whey protein precipitating moderate to severe acne flares in 5 teenaged athletes. Silverberg is affiliated with St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. 6. Wen et al. (2011). Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study. Wen is affiliated with National Health Research Institutes (Taiwan). 7. Kramer (2011). Penile Fracture Seems More Likely During Sex Under Stressful Situations. Kramer is affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine 8. Newman & Feldman (2011). Copyright and Open Access at the Bedside. Newman and Feldman are affiliated with the University of California San Francisco and University of California Hastings College of the Law, respectively. 9. Reaves et al. (2012). Absence of Detectable Arsenate in DNA from Arsenate-Grown GFAJ-1 Cells. Reaves is affiliated with Princeton University. 10. Bravo et al. (2011). Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. Bravo is affiliated with University College Cork. 11. Park et al. (2012). Penetration of the Oral Mucosa by Parasite-Like Sperm Bags of Squid: A Case Report in a Korean Woman. Park is affiliated with the Kwandong University College of Medicine. 12. Mottron (2011). Changing perceptions: The power of autism. Mottron is affiliated with Université de Montréal. 13. Villeda et al. (2012). The ageing systemic milieu negatively regulates neurogenesis and cognitive function. Villeda is affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine. 14. Merchant et al. (2011). Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts. Merchant is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. 15. Ho et al. (2011). A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet Slows Tumor Growth and Prevents Cancer Initiation. Ho is affiliated with the BC Cancer Agency.

This document is a translation of a text originally produced in French. The University of Montreal is officially known as Université de Montréal. Isabella Peters of Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf (Germany), Cassidy R. Sugimoto of the University of Indiana Bloomington (United States), and Mike Thelwall of the University of Wolverhampton (United Kingdom) also contributed to this research. The following acknowledgement appeared in the article: This research was part of the international Digging into Data program (funded by AHRC/ESRC/JISC (UK), SSHRC (Canada), and the National Science Foundation (US; grant #1208804). Vincent Larivière acknowledges funding from the Canada Research Chair program.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

High chair-related injuries to children on the rise

2013-12-09
High chair-related injuries to children on the rise Every hour, every day a child is taken to a hospital as injuries surge 22 percent (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – High chairs and booster seats are commonly used to help make feeding young children ...

Innovative drug-dispensing contact lens delivers glaucoma medication continuously for a month

2013-12-09
Innovative drug-dispensing contact lens delivers glaucoma medication continuously for a month Biomaterials features findings of Mass. Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School study BOSTON (Dec. 9, 2013) – For nearly half a century, contact lenses have ...

No pictures, please: Taking photos may impede memory of museum tour

2013-12-09
No pictures, please: Taking photos may impede memory of museum tour Visit a museum these days and you'll see people using their smartphones and cameras to take pictures of works of art, archeological finds, historical artifacts, and any ...

Deep Carbon Observatory scientists discover quick recipe for producing hydrogen

2013-12-08
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 8-Dec-2013 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Terry Collins tc@tca.tc 416-538-8712 Katie Pratt katie_pratt@mail.uri.edu 401-536-8813 Deep Carbon Observatory Deep Carbon Observatory scientists discover quick recipe for producing hydrogen New formula for fast, abundant H2 production may help power fuel cells, helps explain expansive chemical-eating microbial communities ...

Study: Majority of epilepsy surgery patients enjoy improvement in their physical and social well-being

2013-12-08
Study: Majority of epilepsy surgery patients enjoy improvement in their physical and social well-being DETROIT – The majority of epilepsy patients who have brain surgery to treat their disorder are satisfied with the results in reducing epilepsy-related seizures ...

Bed bugs can survive freezing temperatures, but cold can still kill them

2013-12-08
Bed bugs can survive freezing temperatures, but cold can still kill them Exposing bed bug-infested clothing or other small items to freezing temperatures may be a viable control option for people at risk of bed bug infestations. However, a new study ...

Targeted treatment can significantly reduce relapse in children with AML leukemia

2013-12-08
Targeted treatment can significantly reduce relapse in children with AML leukemia Findings from nationwide study led by Children's Mercy researcher highlighted at American Society of Hematology Meeting The addition of a monoclonal antibody called gemtuzumab combined ...

New insights into pathophysiology of sickle cell disease and thalassemia may help improve care

2013-12-08
New insights into pathophysiology of sickle cell disease and thalassemia may help improve care (NEW ORLEANS, December 8, 2013) – New research presented today during the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition ...

Novel drug regimen can improve stem cell transplantation outcomes

2013-12-08
Novel drug regimen can improve stem cell transplantation outcomes Bortezomib (Velcade) reduces GVHD, boosts survival NEW ORLEANS— Adding bortezomib (Velcade) to standard preventive therapy for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) results in improved ...

Flipping a gene switch reactivates fetal hemoglobin, may reverse sickle cell disease

2013-12-08
Flipping a gene switch reactivates fetal hemoglobin, may reverse sickle cell disease In lab studies, CHOP researchers reprogram gene expression, showing proof-of-concept for potential therapy Hematology researchers at The Children's Hospital ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find

Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

[Press-News.org] Peer-review science is taking off on Twitter, but who is tweeting what and why?