In this study, we undertake an extensive analysis of YouTube channels that reference research publications in their video descriptions, offering a unique insight into the intersection of digital media and academia. Our investigation focuses on three principal aspects: the background of YouTube channel owners, their thematic focus, and the nature of their operational dynamics, specifically addressing whether they work individually or in groups. Our results highlight a strong emphasis on content related to science and engineering, as well as health, particularly in channels managed by individual researchers and academic institutions. However, there is a notable variation in the popularity of these channels, with professional YouTubers and commercial media entities often outperforming in terms of viewer engagement metrics like likes, comments, and views. This underscores the challenge academic channels face in attracting a wider audience. Further, we explore the role of academic actors on YouTube, scrutinizing their impact in disseminating research and the types of publications they reference. Despite a general inclination towards professional academic topics, these channels displayed a varied effectiveness in spotlighting highly cited research. Often, they referenced a wide array of publications, indicating a diverse but not necessarily impact-focused approach to content selection.

翻译：在本研究中，我们对在视频描述中引用研究论文的YouTube频道进行了广泛分析，为数字媒体与学术界的交叉领域提供了独特见解。我们的调查聚焦三个主要方面：YouTube频道运营者的背景、其内容主题偏好，以及运营动态特征（具体探讨其工作方式为个体或团队协作）。研究结果显示，科学工程与健康相关的内容在个人研究者及学术机构管理的频道中占据显著优势。然而，这些频道的受众热度存在显著差异：专业视频创作者和商业媒体机构在点赞、评论、观看量等用户参与度指标上往往表现更优。这凸显出学术类频道在吸引广泛受众方面面临的挑战。进一步地，我们探究了学术参与者在YouTube平台的作用——考察其在研究成果传播中的影响力，以及所引用的出版物类型。尽管这些频道普遍倾向于呈现专业学术内容，但在凸显高被引研究方面效果参差不齐。其引用的期刊文献虽覆盖面广泛，却未必采用以影响力为导向的内容筛选策略。