Plum Analytics, which introduces modern ways of measuring research impact to individuals and organisations that use and analyse research, has announced that its product PlumX™, is now Shibboleth-enabled. This will allow those performing, funding or monitoring research to use a single sign-on to access the information about research impact. By allowing single sign-on, Plum Analytics, an EBSCO company, enables users easier access to the alternative metrics it provides from the authentication systems which is popular in academic institutions and corporate enterprises and ensures that only authorised users update researcher information.
PlumX is a research dashboard that harvests metrics from a wide variety of sources to provide information to help understand research impact. By carefully designing and developing the architecture, features and security, Plum Analytics delivers a product that large enterprises and institutions require. By using Shibboleth, PlumX is supporting the ways in which enterprises connect users to applications.
The Shibboleth-enabled authorisation also provides the identification process necessary to safeguard researchers' profiles. By using this authentication method, PlumX knows who is using PlumX and allows for researchers to update their own profiles but not others. Likewise, other authorised users, such as a liaison librarian, can update specific researcher profiles, while preventing others from doing so.
PlumX, named Library Journal's most ambitious database in 2013, gathers metrics across five categories—usage, mentions, captures, social media and citations. Metrics are gathered around what Plum Analytics calls artifacts—more than just the journal articles that a researcher authors. The information collected is presented in a variety of ways including data visualisations, dashboards, and widgets. Plum Analytics is the only company synthesising this metrics data for custom analysis for each institution and for publishers.
