Topic: Disseminating scientific research via Twitter: Practical insights and research evidence

Speaker: Katja Reuter, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine at the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC; Director of Digital Innovation and Communication for the Southern California Clinical and Translational Research Institute (SC CTSI).

Overview: About one-fifth of current scientific papers are being shared on Twitter. With 230 million active users and 24 percent of the U.S. online population using the microblogging platform, hopes are high that tweets mentioning scientific articles reflect some type of interest by the general public and might even be able to measure the societal impact of research. Studies show that most of the engagement with scientific papers on Twitter takes place among members of academia and thus reflects visibility within the scientific community rather than impact on society. However, there are ways to reach the broader public. As a follow-up to the webinar on alternative scholarly metrics, this webinar will provide an overview of both using Twitter to reach peers and non-specialist groups.