Correlation between Altmetric and Scientometric Indicators

Objective: Despite the increasing attention to altmetric indicators in scientometric research, there is still doubt about the validity of these indicators in evaluating research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between scientometric and altmetric indices on scientific products. Materials and Methods: In the altmetric indices section, five indicator classes presented in Scopus and 36 sub-indices were examined. The Spearman correlation indicator was used to evaluate the correlation between altmetric and scientometric indices. The SPSS software version 16 was used to analyze data. The significance level was also considered less than 0.05. Results: The correlation between the number of citations to documents and Usage, Citations, and Capture was significant. There was no significant relationship between social media and mention. Also, there is a significant and positive relationship between the citations to documents and sub-indices of Abstract views, Link out, Readers, Export/saves, and Citation indicator. Conclusion: Given the important relationship between citation rates and altmetric indicators, it can be said that web-based platforms like scientific databases or social media that are publicly accessible play a very important role in increasing the visibility and citation rate and thus the effectiveness of research