On the Quality of altmetric data: An exploratory analysis using Benford's law

Altmetrics, or alternative metrics, have gained a lot of popularity during last few years. It is now being explored for several purposes ranging from impact measure to research evaluation. Researchers are even exploring use of altmetrics as a proxy for societal impact of research. However, at the same time there are several studies which have cautioned about use of altmetrics on account of quality and reliability of altmetric data. This study proposes a framework to evaluate the quality of altmetric data by applying Benford Law. A large sized altmetric data sample is considered and the fits with Benford's Law are computed. Results for fit on first and second leading digit of altmetric data show adherence to Benford's Law and hence provides evidence towards authenticity of altmetric data considered. Statistical tests confirm the findings. The study suggests that Benford's Law fit can be used as a method to test the quality of altmetric data. Further, the use of a large-sized data sample is likely to reduce the impact of manipulations in altmetric data. Relevant implications of the research are discussed.