Online distribution channel increases article usage on Mendeley: a randomized controlled trial

Paul Kudlow (), Matthew Cockerill, Danielle Toccalino, Devin Bissky Dziadyk, Alan Rutledge, Aviv Shachak, Roger S. McIntyre, Arun Ravindran and Gunther Eysenbach
Additional contact information
Paul Kudlow: University of Toronto
Matthew Cockerill: MaRS Discovery District
Danielle Toccalino: MaRS Discovery District
Devin Bissky Dziadyk: MaRS Discovery District
Alan Rutledge: MaRS Discovery District
Aviv Shachak: University of Toronto
Roger S. McIntyre: University of Toronto
Arun Ravindran: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Gunther Eysenbach: MaRS Discovery District

Scientometrics, 2017, vol. 112, issue 3, No 19, 1537-1556

Abstract: Abstract Prior research shows that article reader counts (i.e. saves) on the online reference manager, Mendeley, correlate to future citations. There are currently no evidenced-based distribution strategies that have been shown to increase article saves on Mendeley. We conducted a 4-week randomized controlled trial to examine how promotion of article links in a novel online cross-publisher distribution channel (TrendMD) affect article saves on Mendeley. Four hundred articles published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research were randomized to either the TrendMD arm (n = 200) or the control arm (n = 200) of the study. Our primary outcome compares the 4-week mean Mendeley saves of articles randomized to TrendMD versus control. Articles randomized to TrendMD showed a 77% increase in article saves on Mendeley relative to control. The difference in mean Mendeley saves for TrendMD articles versus control was 2.7, 95% CI (2.63, 2.77), and statistically significant (p

Keywords: Bibliometrics; Mendeley; Randomized controlled trial; Article usage; Academic journals; Impact; TrendMD; Knowledge dissemination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-017-2438-3

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