Academic Social Media Platforms Research Articles

The use and application of Lean Management methods to research processes—a scoping review protocol

IntroductionWaste in medical research is a relatively well-known issue. However, only a few initiatives exist to address this issue. Lean Management methods (Lean) were developed in industrial manufacturing and later...

Leveraging Academic Social Media to Improve Librarian Research Output in Scopus/Web of Science Indexed Outlets

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of academic social media utilization on the volume of research output by librarians working in the southwestern region of Nigeria. This investigation adopted a descriptive survey research design and a sample of 363 librarians employed in university libraries located in the southwestern region of Nigeria. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were utilized to analyze the data collected. The results of the study revealed a low level of research output by librarians in Scopus and Web of Science indexed publications. However, the study also demonstrated that librarians who utilized academic social media platforms such as Figshare, Orcid, and ResearchGate had a higher likelihood of having their research published in outlets indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. In conclusion, this study supports the argument that the utilization of academic social media can enhance the likelihood of publication in Scopus and Web of Science indexed outlets. Based on these findings, it is recommended that efforts be made to increase the utilization of academic social media platforms such as Orcid and ResearchGate among librarians in southwestern Nigeria.

Enhancing Research Activities of Library and Information Science Educators in Nigerian Universities through Utilization of Academic Social Media

The paper examines how academic social media utilisation can enhance research activities of Library and Information Science educators in Nigerian universities. The study highlighted the various research activities of Library and Information Science educators such as information gathering, collaboration, and dissemination of research findings and measurement of impacts. In addition, the authors elaborated on the benefits of academic social media such as Research gate, Academia.edu, Google Scholar, LinkedIn, Open Researcher Contributor Identity and Mendeley to include profile creation, information gathering, search for potential collaborators, instant research result dissemination, measurement of impact and management of research. The study stated that factors such as social influence, technical factors and personal factors can influence use of academic social media platforms.
 Keywords: Social media, Academics, Research Library and Information Science, Educators

Clarity on frequently asked questions about drought measurements in plant physiology

Drought, or environmental water deficit, is one of the major limiting factors affecting crop yield worldwide. Development of drought-resistant crop cultivars is a major research and development challenge. Drought-related experiments are performed usually to understand the physiological and molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance. Such experiments are also performed to develop transgenics or crop cultivars resistant to drought using physiological and molecular markers. Drought-related experiments are executed in growth chambers, growth rooms, greenhouses, wire net-houses or in research fields. However, a plethora of research publications investigating drought has experimental weaknesses and flaws with respect to the approaches used. It is, therefore, necessary for agronomists, plant breeders, plant physiologists, and molecular biologists to be aware of common pitfalls and have the minimum knowledge required for drought measurements. There are several questions that are often asked by students and professionals alike, and these questions often appear on academic social media platforms. This article summarises the questions we have been asked about drought measurements personally and those asked on academic social media platforms. It also addresses ambiguous questions arising from published literature. We aim to respond to them to the best of our knowledge in order to provide a reference point for a beginner interested in performing drought-related experiments. This article will only focus on drought in relation to plant physiology and will not cover the usage of the term or drought measurements in other contexts.

Anatomy of scholarly information behavior patterns in the wake of academic social media platforms

As more scholarly content is born digital or converted to a digital format, digital libraries are becoming increasingly vital to researchers seeking to leverage scholarly big data for scientific discovery. Although scholarly products are available in abundance—especially in environments created by the advent of social networking services—little is known about international scholarly information needs, information-seeking behavior, or information use. The purpose of this paper is to address these gaps via an in-depth analysis of the information needs and information-seeking behavior of researchers, both students and faculty, at two universities, one in the USA and the other in Qatar. Based on this analysis, the study identifies and describes new behavior patterns on the part of researchers as they engage in the information-seeking process. The analysis reveals that the use of academic social networks has notable effects on various scholarly activities. Further, this study identifies differences between students and faculty members in regard to their use of academic social networks, and it identifies differences between researchers according to discipline. Although the researchers who participated in the present study represent a range of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, the study reports a number of similarities in terms of the researchers’ scholarly activities.

Acceptance of altmetrics by LIS scholars: An exploratory study

A survey of iSchool and Library and Information Science American Library Association accredited school heads explored their use and opinions about academic social media platforms. Results show that ResearchGate is the venue of choice, although respondents do not believe maintaining a profile on academic social media platforms influences academic careers. Respondents do see the value of academic social media sites to enhance visibility and reputation. These data are complemented with an analysis of the visibility on academic/professional social media platforms of this group. The altmetric indicators derived from the data were compared to traditional bibliometric indicators.

Researchgate Projects: Unregulated Academic Social Media

Abstract ResearchGate (RG) is one of the most popular academic social media platforms currently available to scientists. Allowing scientists, researchers and academics (SRAs) to network through the creation of a free account. RG provides a virtually unlimited ability for SRAs to share research, contact each other through an integrated platform and share ideas. In recent times, projects have been increasing in scope and visibility, fortifying the RG network status. This paper examines some of the project-related features at RG and points out, within a wider examination of RG and other SRA-oriented academic social media platforms, the existing benefits and risks. The results of this work will allow SRAs to manage and invest their time in a better way.

The #AustralianBeachspace Project: Examining Opportunities for Research Dissemination Using Instagram

The #AustralianBeachspace Project: Examining Opportunities for Research Dissemination Using Instagram

Will Publons Popularize the Scientific Peer-Review Process?

Will Publons Popularize the Scientific Peer-Review Process?