The use of altmetric indicators in the Open Research Data Repository for Cracow-based Institutions of Higher Learning (an intercollegiate platform for data deposition)

Abstract

Support in activities that are aimed at promoting the idea of open science constitutes nowadays one of the essential assignments and tasks facing the academic library. The supporting activities at universities include identifying and implementing relevant research data management services. A systemic support framework for this particular assignment is provided by the Open Research Data Repository for Cracow-based Institutions of Higher Learning (Polish: RODBUK), initiated in March 2023. The number of responsibilities that are executed by the librarians engaged in the development of the RODBUK includes launching new tools that facilitate visibility and measure the use and citation numbers of the data deposited in the repository. The present study is the first project in the literature published in Poland that envisages an application test of broader studies (in a pilot run) that aim to verify the actual utilization of altmetric indicators in research data repositories.
This article aims at two related objectives: an analysis of available research data repositories in terms of the use of altmetric indicators, and the evaluation whether altmetric metrics are used in the repositories based on the Dataverse research data management system. The repositories indexed in the Ranking Web of Repositories and the repositories that use the Dataverse software were selected for the analysis. The review of the literature of the subject and the preparation of the article was based on the analysis and review literature method. A desk research analysis was used to collect available data. The application of the above research method made it possible for the author to analyse and compare the collected information.
The conclusions are the following: altmetric indicators are used in research repositories, albeit on a very limited scale (and in a limited scope). This may have been effected by the fact that the existing data repositories are only at their initial stage of development and the available tools are still not widely used. However, the very idea of summing up the occurrences of mentions on research data in a different number of services and social media, not only on portals that are oriented and geared towards specific research purposes, still presents an interesting alternative in the analysis of the interest and usage of research data.