Por métricas alternativas mais relevantes para a América Latina

Abstract

Alternative metrics have been used as a complement to traditional metrics as tools to track the uses and social attention to scientifi c
publications in the online environment. Open access scientifi c journals are potentially more likely to be shared and read by the public on social media. In this scenario, the scientifi c output of Brazil and Latin America, like those indexed in the SciELO database, which brings together relevant and open access scientifi c journals from the region, could benefi t from altmetrics. However, analyzes of the representativeness of countries, languages and fi elds of knowledge in altmetrics reveal that the indicators need to be improved to value science in developing, non-English speaking, open access countries and national or regional relevance. This paper points out the limitations of altmetrics for science in Latin America, by analyzing the social media behavior of scholars and society, the presence of diff erent languages to share articles, as well as the data that generate altmetrics, such as the ones produced by the British data provider Altmetric.com.