@article{c6d164d0708e44fe949a5717844acc23,
title = "{\textquoteleft}Amplifier{\textquoteright} platforms and impact: Australian scholars{\textquoteright} use of The Conversation",
abstract = "Digital and social media have grown exponentially to become highly influential spheres of public communication – increasingly crowded, contested, and corrupted, and increasingly in need of scholarly engagement. Alternative metrics ({\textquoteleft}altmetrics{\textquoteright}) that are generated from social and digital media platforms have become more important as indicators of impact and engagement for scholars. In AUR 61/2, we reviewed the growth of amplifier platforms and the academic and contextual reasons for their growth. In this article, we investigate how scholars frame their practices of engagement and impact, how they use {\textquoteleft}amplifier platforms{\textquoteright}, in particular The Conversation, and to what extent institutions are supporting their staff in these activities. We find that scholars frame engagement and impact as an ethical imperative and place importance on evidence-based messaging; that they are not only interested in seeing their own research amplified, but in amplifying other quality research; that this benefits their other academic activities; that open access models promote republication and increase reach and engagement; and that institutional support for engaging on amplifier platforms is uneven and underdeveloped.",
keywords = "Amplifier platforms, Digital media, Engagement, Impact, Online scholarly communication, Public scholarship, The Conversation",
author = "Kim Osman and Stuart Cunningham",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the scholars we interviewed for this project in informing the direction of our research. Thanks also go to the wider research team, Prof Axel Bruns, Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Nic Suzor and Prof Patrik Wikstr?m. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project ?Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate? Grant ID: LP160100205 Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the scholars we interviewed for this project in informing the direction of our research. Thanks also go to the wider research team, Prof Axel Bruns, Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Nic Suzor and Prof Patrik Wikstr{\"o}m. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project “Amplifying Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Australian Universities Review. All rights reserved. Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the scholars we interviewed for this project in informing the direction of our research. Thanks also go to the wider research team, Prof Axel Bruns, Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Nic Suzor and Prof Patrik Wikstr{\"o}m. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project “Amplifying Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the scholars we interviewed for this project in informing the direction of our research. Thanks also go to the wider research team, Prof Axel Bruns, Prof Jean Burgess, Prof Nic Suzor and Prof Patrik Wikstr{\"o}m. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project “Amplifying Public Value: Scholarly Contributions' Impact on Public Debate” Grant ID: LP160100205 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Australian Universities Review. All rights reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = feb,
day = "25",
language = "English",
volume = "62",
pages = "43--52",
journal = "Australian Universities' Review",
issn = "0818-8068",
number = "1",
}