Publication
Amplifying Academic Research through YouTube: Engagement Metrics as Predictors of Citation Impact
Olga Zagovora; Talisa Schwall; Katrin Weller
In: Companion Publication of the 16th ACM Web Science Conference. Web Science Conference (WebSci), New York, NY, USA, Websci Companion '24, ISBN 9798400704536, Association for Computing Machinery, 2024.
Abstract
This study explores the interplay between YouTube engagement metrics and the academic impact of cited publications within video descriptions, amid declining trust in traditional journalism and increased reliance on social media for information. By analyzing data from Altmetric.com and YouTube’s API, it assesses how YouTube video features relate to citation impact. Initial results suggest that videos citing scientific publications and garnering high engagement—likes, comments, and references to other publications—may function as a filtering mechanism or even as a predictor of impactful research.