Altmetrics Analysis of 100 Highly Cited Research Articles in Top Ranked Library and Information Science Journals Indexed in Scopus

LIBRARY HERALD

Year : 2026, Volume : 64, Issue :2

First page :(180)Last page :(192)

Print ISSN : 0024-2292. Online ISSN : 0976-2469.

Article DOI : 10.5958/0976-2469.2026.00016.3

Altmetrics Analysis of 100 Highly Cited Research Articles in Top Ranked Library and Information Science Journals Indexed in Scopus

KP Singh1, Ashish Kumar2

1 Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

2 Research Scholar, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

Abstract

This study investigates the altmetrics analysis of 100 extremely cited research articles in top-ranked library and information science journals that have been indexed in Scopus and reviews the correlation between altmetrics indicators and Scopus citation counts. These articles were selected from the top ten LIS journals as ranked by Scopus CiteScore. The bibliographic data for the research articles were accumulated from the Scopus database. The altmetrics consideration was obtained from the bookmark “Altmetric it!” provided by altmetric.com, and the analysis was conducted by using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation. All selected articles received some level of altmetrics attention, with a cumulative Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) of 5,980 (mean = 59.8; median = 11), revealing an uneven distribution of online attention. Mendeley readership was the most frequently cited altmetrics indicator (total readers = 98,460; mean = 984.6), followed by mentions on X (Twitter) with a tweet of 3572 (mean = 47; median = 4). The remaining altmetrics sources tended to possess a low median value, suggesting that only a few articles received elevated levels of online concentration. Spearman correlation analysis uncovered a moderate positive and significant correlation between citation counts and AAS (rs = .468, p < .001). An extremely strong positive correlation was realized between citation counts and Mendeley readership (rs = .837, p < .001). The policy document mentions (rs = .485, p < .001), and X (Twitter) mentions (rs = .301, p = .002) also displayed substantial correlations, while the remaining altmetrics indicators tended to exhibit weak or non-significant correlations. These discoveries suggest that altmetrics, particularly Mendeley readership, complement conventional citation metrics by delivering fresh and the latest information about scholarly visibility and engagement. At the present moment, altmetrics requires to be used to proceeding forward as a supplement to citation-based metrics. The outcomes of the research work may be used by Journals, Editors, LIS discipline experts, policymakers, and Higher Education institutions for developing policies based on the findings of the study.

Keywords

Altmetrics; Research Articles; Altmetrics Attention Score; Citation Counts; Mendeley Readers; Scopus; Journals; Altmetrics Indicators