Science in the digital age: RSU graduates explore the impact and visibility of arts therapies
How does scientific research reach the wider public, not just the academic community? Three graduates of the Art Therapy master’s programme at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) – Anastasija Gromova, Dārta Melngalve and Kristīne Kirfa – addressed this question in their master's theses. Using bibliometric and altmetric analysis, they examined the academic and social impact of scientific publications in arts therapies within the digital environment.
The findings of these studies not only provide insight into the development of arts therapies research but have also formed the foundation for an international scientific publication on the academic and social impact of arts therapies research.
Arts therapies and measuring scientific impact
For the past 20 years, the RSU Art Therapy master's programme has been training specialists for careers in healthcare, education and the social sector. The programme encompasses four specialisations: visual art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, and dance and movement therapy.
Although the effectiveness and application of arts therapies are being researched increasingly extensively, relatively little attention has been paid so far to the visibility and impact of this research outside the academic environment.
To address this gap, the graduates employed altmetrics – an approach that assesses the impact of scientific publications in the digital space by analysing mentions across social media, news outlets, blogs, Wikipedia and other platforms. Unlike traditional bibliometric indicators such as citation rates, altmetrics help evaluate the extent to which research findings reach wider audiences.
The impact of arts therapies research: academic environment dominates
Gromova's study marks the first comprehensive analysis of how widely scientific publications in arts therapies reach both researchers and society. The study analysed 1,845 peer-reviewed scientific articles published between 2017 and 2022.
The results show that arts therapies research primarily reaches an academic audience, with citation rates and reads on the scientific platform Mendeley proving to be the most stable indicators of impact. By contrast, visibility in the digital environment was low and irregular, with 80–95% of publications receiving no mentions at all on social media, in the news or on blogs.
Significant differences were identified among the various specialisations. Music therapy demonstrated the highest citation rates and the largest proportion of open-access publications, whereas drama therapy and dance and movement therapy showed lower figures. The study confirmed that open-access publications generally receive statistically more citations; however, a higher proportion of open-access publications alone does not guarantee greater visibility.
Dance and movement therapy research attracts social media attention
Melngalve’s study focused on the social impact of dance and movement therapy publications in the digital environment.
An analysis of 422 scientific publications revealed that 53% had received at least one online mention. Most attention was generated on social media platforms, particularly on X.
Research exploring the use of dance and movement therapy to support mental health and enhance wellbeing attracted the greatest interest from wider audiences. The findings also showed that open-access publications received substantially more public attention than closed-access ones.
Drama therapy: greater resonance in interdisciplinary research
Kirfa’s study focused on the visibility and impact of drama therapy publications.
An analysis of 275 publications indexed in the Scopus database found that, despite the growing volume of research, the digital visibility of drama therapy remains relatively limited. Twenty-one per cent of studies had attracted attention on Facebook, while 13% had been mentioned in news articles, blogs or on Wikipedia.
The greatest resonance in the digital environment was often achieved by interdisciplinary studies that examined drama therapy within a broader context of mental health or developmental disorders.
What the studies reveal about science communication
Combining the results of all three studies reveals a common trend: arts therapies research successfully reaches the scientific community, but public visibility remains limited.
The studies indicate that open access enhances both the citation rate and reach of scientific publications. However, active communication on social media, news platforms and other public channels also plays a crucial role.
From master’s thesis to international publication
Based on the research findings, Gromova, together with Prof. Kristīne Mārtinsone (PhD in Psychology) of the RSU Department of Health Psychology and Pedagogy, Asst. Prof. Sanita Šuriņa (PhD), Asst. Prof. Silva Seņkāne (PhD in Social Sciences), researcher José Luis Ortega (PhD) from the Spanish National Research Council, and RSU master's student Melngalve, prepared the scientific article Academic and Social Impact of Creative Arts Therapies Research (2017–2022): A Scopus-Based Bibliometric and Altmetric Study.
An overview of the research has been published in the international scientific journal Social Sciences & Humanities Open, providing one of the most comprehensive assessments to date of the academic and social impact of arts therapies research.
