Exploring the Impact of Social Networking Sites on Scholarly Communication: An Analysis Based on Selected LIS Journals through Altmetric Explorer

Abstract

Through an altmetric analysis of publications from the top ten LIS journals, this study examines publication patterns, mentions across various SNSs, the geographical distribution of user engagement, and the distribution of AAS for open-access versus closed-access articles. Data were sourced from Altmetric.com through Altmetric Explorer as indexed between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023, and analysed using MS Excel and SPSS. The study found a significant increase in research output and engagement until 2017, followed by a fluctuation and decline in subsequent years. The study also reveals that X (formerly Twitter) is the primary channel for research information dissemination, with notable contributions from X handles of respective publishers and editors. The study also found that the most mentions are associated with the United States (30, 791) and the United Kingdom (16, 318) among 194 countries. Additionally, the analysis shows that open-access and closed-access AAS do not follow a normal distribution according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Overall findings highlight the importance of SNSs in shaping academic communication and provide valuable information for researchers and stakeholders to enhance scholarly engagement and dissemination.