Brief Report: The Impact of Social and News Media Coverage on the Dissemination of Autism Research.

This study looked at how sharing autism research on social media and in news stories affects how many people read and use the research. They found that when research is shared on Twitter, Facebook, or covered in news stories, it gets downloaded and cited much more often. Research about autism treatments and interventions was shared the most. This means that sharing research on social media is a good way to help more people learn about important autism findings.

This study examined how social media and news coverage affects the dissemination of autism research by analyzing articles published in three autism-focused journals in 2019. The researchers found that social media sharing significantly increased research reach: every 10 Twitter shares resulted in 4.4% more downloads and 5.2% more citations. Articles shared on Facebook had 23.3% more downloads, while those covered in news media had 56.9% more downloads and 39.3% more citations. Descriptive analysis revealed that articles focusing on treatments and interventions were most frequently shared, downloaded, and cited.

The findings suggest social media is an effective tool for autism researchers to increase the visibility and impact of their work within both research and autism communities.

Results suggest autism researchers should actively use social media and engage with news media to increase research visibility and impact. This enhanced dissemination may improve knowledge translation to clinicians, families, and the autism community, potentially accelerating implementation of evidence-based practices.

Study examined only articles from 2019 and three autism-focused journals, limiting generalizability. Sample size not reported. Study design not specified, and causality between social media sharing and increased citations/downloads cannot be established from the data presented.

We examined how sharing autism research articles via social and news media was associated with citations and downloads. We included articles published in 2019 from three autism-focused journals. Every 10 Twitter shares yielded a 4.4% increase in article downloads and 5.2% increase in citations. Articles with at least one Facebook post had 23.3% more downloads than those without.

Articles with at least one news story had 56.9% more downloads and 39.3% more citations than those without. Descriptive analysis indicated the most shared, downloaded, and cited articles focused largely on treatments or interventions. Autism researchers should continue sharing articles via Twitter and news media because it increases the reach of their work and may better engage research and autism community members.