Scientific journals have changed the mechanisms they use for distribution and dissemination of information. Different approaches towards determining impact have emerged and among these, metrics derived from activity on social media are an emerging trend. This article aims to assess whether a correlation exists between the traditional impact factor and activity on social media. We assessed journals categorized within the area of "immunology" on the SCImago Journal and Country Rank website. Variables reflecting traditional and alternative measures of impact were collected. Differences between journals with and without social networks were assessed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests. Correlation was assessed through Spearman tests. 156 journals were analyzed, 17% had at least one social network. 48.2% of journals with social networks were classified within SJR's quartile 1. An almost perfect correlation was found between the SJR and the number of followers on Twitter, this correlation remained statistically significant after adjusting for time since creation of the account [Spearman's correlation (rs) = 0.83]. We propose the use of Twitter as a mechanism for dissemination of information by immunology journals, as well as other social networks for their potential to increase their audience, as well as the dissemination and impact of their publications.

中文翻译：

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免疫学和社会网络：一种影响评估的方法。

科学期刊已经改变了它们用于分发和传播信息的机制。确定影响的方法已经出现了不同的方法，其中，从社交媒体上的活动得出的指标正在成为一种新兴趋势。本文旨在评估传统影响因素与社交媒体活动之间是否存在关联。我们评估了SCImago Journal and Country Rank网站上“免疫学”领域内归类的期刊。收集了反映传统和替代性影响措施的变量。使用非参数Mann-Whitney U检验评估了有和没有社交网络的期刊之间的差异。通过Spearman检验评估相关性。分析了156种期刊，其中17％拥有至少一个社交网络。48。2％的具有社交网络的期刊被归类为SJR的四分位数1。在SJR和Twitter上的关注者数量之间发现了几乎完美的相关性，自从创建帐户以来经过时间调整后，这种相关性在统计上仍然很显着[ ）= 0.83]。我们建议使用Twitter作为免疫学期刊以及其他社交网络传播信息的一种机制，以提高其潜在受众的潜力以及出版物的传播和影响。