Alternative metrics provider Altmetric LLP recently reviewed 100 academic papers that received the most online attention in 2014 – and the conversations happening around them.
The list provides a detailed overview of the published research articles that have generated the largest amount of sharing and discussion across mainstream and social media, blogs, peer-review forums, platforms such as Reddit and YouTube, and bookmarking sites.
The 10 most shared scientific research papers for 2014 include: Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks; Variation in Melanism and Female Preference in Proximate but Ecologically Distinct Environments; Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota; Stimulus-triggered fate conversion of somatic cells into pluripotency; Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth's magnetic field; Christmas 2013: Research: The survival time of chocolates on hospital wards: covert observational study; Epidemiological modeling of online social network dynamics; Searching the Internet for evidence of time travellers; Conscious Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans Using Non-Invasive Technologies; and Were James Bond's drinks shaken because of alcohol-induced tremor?
The full list is currently available at Altmetric.com.
Medical and health research topped the list with 44 percent of sharing across mainstream and social channels. The most popular ranged from topics such as the effect of artificial sweeteners on glucose intolerance to the origins of the Ebola virus. Biological sciences accounted for 20 percent of the Top 100. Articles in this category included controversial (and later disproven) studies on the creation of human stem cells in acid baths, and many others focussed on the ancestral genomes of humans and animals. Physical sciences ranked third with 9 percent in total from these areas of study – the most popular of which was a new theory on the nature of black holes from renowned Professor, Stephen Hawking.
In terms of international collaboration, UK led projects showed close links to American scientists. Eighty percent of articles in top 100 which named a British author were the result of international collaborations. Eighty five percent of those collaborations included contributions from researchers in North America. Twenty seven percent received input from researchers in Central or South America, the Asia Pacific region, or Africa. Thirty seven (or 54%) of the 68 US outputs listed were produced by only US based academics. Collaborations with researchers in Central or South America, the Asia pacific region, or Africa were found in just 14 (20%) of articles that also featured a US author.
