Abstract
Since the advent of online social networking sites, much has been written about their potential for transforming academia, as communication and collaboration underpin many scholarly activities. However, the extent to which these benefits are being realised in practice is unclear. As the uptake of tools by academics continues to grow, there is a question as to whether differences exist in their use and if any patterns or underlying factors are at play. This article presents the results of an online survey addressing this gap. A disciplinary divide was evident in terms of preferred academic social networking platforms, while perceptions about how academics use online networking for different purposes are linked to job position. Exploratory factor analysis identified four components representing different strategies used by academics in their approaches to online networking, including maintaining a personal learning network, promoting the professional self, seeking and promoting publications, and advancing careers. Published : 10 April 2018 Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2018, 26 : 2013 - http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2013
Highlights
Online social networking sites (SNS) have experienced a proliferation and rapid expansion in users in the past decade
The survey was publicised via Academia. edu, LinkedIn, ResearchGate and Twitter, with the information circulating to a greater extent via Twitter
Consistent with their membership statistics, Academia.edu and ResearchGate emerged as the most popular academic SNS, their levels of use are dwarfed by the best-known generic tools
Summary
Online social networking sites (SNS) have experienced a proliferation and rapid expansion in users in the past decade (boyd and Ellison 2007; Rainie and Wellman 2012). The term ‘SNS’ is used to define social media platforms which allow users to create profiles, make connections to others and navigate through the results network of connections (Ellison and boyd 2013). In addition to appropriation of generic services (such as Facebook or LinkedIn), a number of academic SNS have entered the market since 2007 (Nentwich and König 2012). There is variation in uptake of the sites and how they are being used in practice, and generic tools (such as Twitter or Facebook) are more widely used and are being appropriated for professional purposes (ibid.)
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