Sequential Explanatory Analysis of the Relationship between Accessibility and Visibility of Scientific Output on the Web: Communication Strategies In the Subfields of Advertising and Public Relations

The use of digital platforms, in particular social networks, has transformed the communication of a researcher's scientific work, which becomes visible, accessible and measurable to the public of interest. New strategies and tools are emerging that facilitate the transfer of knowledge to society, an activity that is valued and recognised as a complement to the researcher's productivity. Using a sequential explanatory methodological design, we analyse the communication practices of 78 advertising and public relations researchers with high scientific visibility in impact journals (Scimago Journal Ranking) in the two subfields. The study aims to: i) identify the types of documents used to communicate their research work; ii) determine which and how many digital services are used to communicate their scientific output; iii) analyse the relationship between the quantity and types of documents published in digital services, their accessibility and representativeness, with the visibility achieved by researchers as a result of communicating their scientific output on the web. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the analysis of scientific work and the use of digital media for the evaluation of researchers' communicative activity. It shows the centrality of the diffusive model in the communication of scientific research also in the digital sphere, and the proliferation of more informal and free circulation publications. The conclusions lead to the definition of communication strategies for the management of the researcher's web visibility and scientific production through digital services.