The donut and Altmetric Attention Score

The Altmetric Attention Score

The Altmetric Attention Score is an automatically calculated, weighted count of all of the attention a research output has received. It is based on 3 main factors:

Combined, the attention score represents a weighted approximation of all the attention we’ve picked up for a research output (not a raw total of the number of mentions). You can find more detail about how it’s calculated, including the standard weightings for each mention type, here.

The attention score is useful when looking at several outputs together to quickly identify the level of online activity surrounding a particular research output – it is not a measure of the quality of the research or the researcher.

We’d always encourage users to click on the donut to view the details page and all of the original mentions – remember, attention can be both positive and negative!

From time to time you might notice that the Altmetric Attention Score for your paper fluctuates or goes down. This can happen when the original author of the mentions deletes their post, when we remove posts that have been flagged as spam, or occasionally when we add new sources so need to re-weight our scoring algorithm.

It’s also important to note that Mendeley readers, Dimensions citation counts, and CiteULike bookmarks do not count towards the score – this is because we can’t show you the full details of who is actually making the mention or reference. It’s our policy that any mentions that count towards the score must be completely transparent and fully visible on the Altmetric details page.