Case Study: Duke University demonstrates the value of research outreach with Altmetric

Duke University - Customer Case Study

Duke University's communications office, led by Director Karl Leif Bates, faced significant challenges in measuring the public perception of its research and demonstrating the value of its outreach to skeptical faculty. They needed a way to capture the online attention surrounding Duke's research to prove their efforts were effective and to build a stronger promotional strategy. To address this, the university turned to the vendor Altmetric and implemented its Altmetric for Institutions platform.

The Altmetric solution provided the team with real-time data and an at-a-glance overview of online attention, enabling them to measure the reach of their research among broader audiences. This allowed them to evidence the value of their work to faculty, understand which communication channels were most effective, and identify best practices. The measurable impact included tracking over 156,707 mentions of Duke research, 982 policy document references, and over 2,000 mentions in a single month, providing concrete data to demonstrate success and build a stronger outreach strategy.

Duke University

Karl Leif Bates

Director of Research Communications