Monday, December 23, 2019

The Kardashian Index For Scientists

Figure 1 from Hall, N. (2014). Genome biology, 15(7), 424

It is true that a journal's Twitter following is strongly linked to its impact factor and citations,  suggesting that higher quality research receives more mainstream attention.  This perspective is neatly summarized here.


However, just in case you were unaware, the Kardashian (K) Index (referenced here), is a measure of discrepancy between social media profile and publication record for scientists.

Although high quality scientific publications, particularly if newsworthy, are associated with increased Twitter activity, not all scientists with large Twitter profiles produce high quality scientific work.

Much like scientific inquiry, Twitter should be approached critically.

Merry Christmas.