Using the online tools below, researchers can explore how many times others have engaged with their work and cited their publications. These metrics can help explain research impact in applications for jobs, grants, tenure and promotion. Keep in mind, however:

  • Research metrics don't replace traditional ways of assessing research impact, including peer review, research funding, and practical application. They simply provide additional data to make impact assessments more accurate and meaningful.
  • Research metrics must be considered in context. A researcher's field of study and career length will greatly affect the citations and attention their work receives.
  • Research metrics are not universal. They are limited to the dataset from which they are drawn (e.g., citation counts in Google Scholar and Web of Science will differ). Always include the source of any impact metrics you are reporting.

Article Citation Metrics

Search for an article by title using the databases listed below to discover how many times it has been cited and by whom. Researchers can also create author profiles [add link to Author Profiles page] on these platforms to explore citation metrics across their body of work.

Altmetrics

Altmetrics are non-traditional metrics that demonstrate online engagement, including how many times a publication has been downloaded, shared on social media, and discussed in the news.

  • Altmetric Bookmarklet - Find article-level metrics for how many times online works have been viewed, downloaded, and shared on various social media sites.
  • ImpactStory Profiles - Create an author profile that lists your works and provides achievement badges, information about online mentions, and more.
  • PlumX - Find altmetrics for articles and other scholarly works available under “Metrics” in individual article records in Scopus.

Need Help?

Contact your subject librarian or email digitalscholarship@macewan.ca for help compiling information on how many times your work has been cited and shared.

Content adapted from Making an Impact: Tracking Your Research Metrics by McMaster University Health Science Library under a CC BY-NC-SA license.