Library Help: Office For Open Research

What is research impact?

Research impact refers to the tangible contribution that research makes to society and the wider world—beyond core academic benefits derived from advancing knowledge.

As a research-intensive institution and the UK’s first civic university, The University of Manchester is committed to conducting research that addresses real-world priorities and delivers meaningful outcomes. These may benefit individuals, the environment, public policy, the economy, culture, and society at large.

Examples include:

• The University’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), for which Manchester ranks:

  • 1st in the UK and Europe, and 2nd globally in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024

  • 1st in the UK and Europe, and 3rd globally in the QS World University Sustainability Rankings
    👉 Find out more about the UN SDGs at Manchester

• Research Beacons that drive innovation and tackle global challenges across key areas:

  • Advanced materials, biotechnology, cancer, energy, and global inequalities
    👉 Discover Manchester's Research Beacons

Research impact supports solutions to global challenges—such as climate change, health inequalities, and economic disparities—and plays an increasingly important role in frameworks like the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF). It also helps build partnerships with government, business, and community organisations.

In the new University of Manchester 2035 strategy, one of five key themes is Accelerating our research impact.
👉 Learn more about Manchester 2035

Evidencing research engagement and impact: beyond citations 

While citation metrics are essential for measuring academic impact, they do not capture the full reach of research. The tools below can help demonstrate broader engagement and influence.

Online Engagement and Social Media Metrics 

Online platforms provide multiple and valuable opportunities for researchers to disseminate their work, and to engage academic and non-academic audiences. Bespoke monitoring platforms, such as Altmetric, provide simple and effective ways of understanding exactly who is engaging with research online, and what they are saying about it. 

Altmetric Explorer 

Altmetric Explorer is a platform which can track and analyse the online attention that research receives. It offers insights into: 

• Mentions on Twitter/X, Bluesky, and other social platforms

• Shares on academic networks (e.g. Mendeley, ResearchGate)

• Coverage in blogs and news outlets

• Mentions in policy documents

• References in Wikipedia

For illustrative purposes the image below shows the overview of Altmetric data for a 2024 University of Manchester study into Antarctic meteorites . This paper received a significant amount of online attention (in the top 5% of research output scores assigned by Altmetric). The platform allows researchers to view details of Twitter / X users who have interacted with the content and country information relating to their geographic location.

News and media coverage 

Media coverage can also be a powerful indicator of research impact and public engagement. The Office for Open Research provides several tools which can assist with the tracking of media mentions: 

SciVal media mention tracking 

SciVal provides data on media coverage of research outputs, offering insights into: 

• Number of media mentions 

• Types of media outlets (newspapers, online news, etc.) 

• Geographic spread of coverage 

Altmetric Explorer for media tracking 

In addition to social media, Altmetric also tracks mentions in media outlets, providing a comprehensive view of media engagement. 

The image below provides an illustrative example (again from Altmetric) which highlights how the platform can provide quick and easy metrics relating to media outlets which have referenced a piece of research. 

Policy impact: citations in policy documents 

Research that influences policy decisions can have far-reaching societal impact. We provide access to data from Overton (via both the Overton platform and SciVal) to track citations of research in policy documents. 

Overton.io database 

Overton.io is a specialised tool that focuses on tracking research mentions in policy documents, offering: 

• Coverage of policy documents from governments, think tanks, and NGOs worldwide 

• The ability to track both direct citations and indirect mentions of research 

• Insights into which policymakers and organisations are engaging with University of Manchester research 

Key Benefits: 

• Demonstrate real-world impact of research on policy decisions 

• Identify potential stakeholders and collaborators in the policy sphere 

• Provide evidence for impact case studies and funding applications 

Overton provides links to policy documents which contain references to publications which contain University of Manchester authors. The example below shows a report from the World Health Organisation which cites research co-authored by a University of Manchester academic. 

Integrating multiple metrics for a fuller picture

To fully capture research engagement and impact, consider combining:

• Citation metrics – for academic influence

• Altmetric data – for social and online engagement

• Media tracking – for public and press reach

• Policy citations – for real-world influence

Our Research Indicators team can help you gather and interpret these metrics and create tailored reports that showcase the reach of your research.

👉 Contact us for support with evidencing research impact