Published in Nature Scientific Reports, a new study describes an innovative method to assess the reach and impacts of knowledge and partnerships created as part of the work of research-for-development organizations.
It uses text mining and the analysis of social networks and hyperlinks to draw inferences from publicly available digital sources, including institutional repositories, scientific databases, and social media.
“The method can uncover narratives, dynamics, and relationships that are hidden from traditional bibliometric analyses,” said Tek Sapkota, a cropping systems and climate change specialist at the International Maize and Wheat improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author or the study, which also involved the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and the University of Molise, Italy.
“Nearly 90 percent of CIMMYT’s research is related to climate change and its impact on food systems and vice-versa, so we assessed that to illustrate our new, web-based analytical framework. This novel approach can help research-for-development organizations to leverage online data and measure their impact.”
Read the full study: Digital artifacts reveal development and diffusion of climate research
Cover photo: Twitter mentions network for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center official account (@CIMMYT). (Credit: Nature Scientific Reports)
Nutrition, health and food security 
