Altmetric analysis of research outputs in a selected faculty of a University in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

This study investigated how alternative metrics might be used to supplement bibliometrics to review the research impact of the Department of Tourism and Events Management at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). As is the case with other institutions in South Africa, CPUT’s research output has grown rapidly of late in response to government incentives. A case study design applying a quantitative research approach was used in this study. An altmetric analysis was performed on the research outputs of the identified department for the years 2005 to 2018. The study also investigated the online visibility and activities of researchers in the department in six academic social media networks. Data was extracted from a variety of secondary sources, including academic social media platforms, the Scopus database, CPUT’s Institutional Repository, the reports of the Centre for Tourism Research in Africa (CETRA) and CPUT’s annual research reports. To achieve the research objectives, data was captured manually and plotted into the Excel matrix for analysis. The results show that the content usage of research items was highest, with coverage of 91%. This was followed by saved (for later use) research items at 8.6%, and the online footprint of research items on social media platforms, with a representation of only 0.02%. It was also discovered that the most popular social media network among the departmental staff was LinkedIn, although most research outputs were shared on ResearchGate. The findings also revealed that a researcher who scored the highest altmetric count, and therefore obtained the highest research impact, was more visible and active on the six social media platforms investigated. Researchers and members of the public, who find altmetricis valuable, need to engage qualified scientometricians to guard against distortion in the use of these new metrics, since this can lead to doubt especially within the scientific community, about their significance.