The bubble effect: Impact of ASCO digital promotion on <i>Journal of Clinical Oncology</i> ( <i>JCO</i> ) download metrics (2023).

Abstract

9042 Background: The impact of digital promotion on scientific article metrics remains debated. This study examined how ASCO’s digital promotion via Twitter (X) and podcasts influenced download rates for articles published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) between January and December 2023. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of articles published in print between January and December 2023 in JCO. Monthly download numbers from each article's month of publication till November 2024 were collected from the official JCO webpage. Promotions by the JCO Twitter (X) account (@JCO_ASCO) and JCO Podcasts - JCO Cancer Stories: Art of Oncology Podcast and ASCO Guidelines Podcast were tracked. Articles with print dates post-December 2023, those without print dates, and manuscript categories including Correspondence, Errata, Retractions, and Acknowledgments, were excluded. To evaluate the association between monthly downloads and digital promotion, multivariable mixed-effects Poisson regression models were employed. Articles were treated as random effects, while digital promotion and months since publication were treated as time-varying covariates. Free access options were included as fixed effects. Monthly rate ratios per unit change in each covariate, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to summarize associations. Results: In total, 563 articles, of which 297 were original reports were analyzed. Digital promotion and free access significantly increased download rates. Articles promoted via official tweets experienced a 27.6% increase in download rates, while those featured in podcasts saw a more modest but still significant increase of 9.2%. When focusing on original reports, podcast promotion had a greater relative impact, with a 19.1% increase in downloads (Table 1). Conclusions: Digital promotion of scientific articles via Twitter (X) and Podcasts significantly boosts downloads. However, interpreting the impact of free access is challenging due to incomplete data on when articles became freely accessible. Future studies should address these limitations and explore broader metrics such as citation counts, journal impact factors, and author H-indices to better understand the influence of digital promotion on scientific dissemination. Multivariable analysis of digital promotion and monthly paper downloads - eligible papers vs Original Reports only. Variable* ELIGIBLE PAPERS (N=563) ORIGINAL REPORTS ONLY (N=297) Rate ratio (95%CI; p-value) Rate ratio (95%CI; p-value) Official tweet (Yes vs. No) 1.276 (1.270, 1.281; p&lt;0.001) 1.128 (1.121, 1.135; p&lt;0.001) Official podcast (Yes vs. No) 1.092 (1.084, 1.100; p&lt;0.001) 1.191 (1.180, 1.202; p&lt;0.001) Open/free/partial access (Yes vs. No) 3.706 (2.766, 4.965; p&lt;0.001) 1.411 (0.331, 6.020; p=0.642) *Months since online publication and papers were included in the model for adjustment.