Coverage and Correlations between Open Citations in Crossref and Readership in Mendeley: Different Fields of Brazilian Science

Abstract

Purpose: This study dwells on the coverage of altmetric indicators in the Mendeley reference manager, citations in the Crossref platform, and the correlations between readers and citations of papers by researchers working in Brazil, according to different fields and subfields of knowledge. Design/Methodology/Approach: We analyzed 152,727 scientific papers published between 2017-2018 by researchers working in Brazil. Findings: The coverage of Brazilian papers by Mendeley is relatively high (87.91%) and 63% of Brazilian papers had citations in Crossref. In the Brazilian context, Mendeley readership is relatively high (average R2 reaching 70% in some areas). Originality/Value: The correlation between readers in Mendeley and citations in Crossref of Brazilian scientific output is between moderate and high. This indicates that Mendeley and Crossref data can be relevant for evaluating Brazilian science. The data reveal that Mendeley readership can, in many fields, predict citations. These data are generally higher and mor homogeneous than those found in the international researches. The scientific communication of international context (based on international journals) and Brazilian (heavily published in national open access journals) and the information sources used in the studies may partly explain the differences between them.