NeuroDevNet NCE in collaboration with York University's KMb Unit reviewed and assessed existing guides for researchers to use social media for dissemination of research finding and engaging with their stakeholders (end users). The guides are ranked from beginner to advanced, and are presented in an annotated bibliography format which also indicates platforms/tools reviewed in each guide.

1. KT - KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION - GUIDES
What is social
media &
where to start?
By: Krista Jensen (KMb Unit, York University),
Isaac Coplan (KT Coordinator, NeuroDevNet), Elle Seymour
Social media is the ‘catch all’term for interactive online communication platforms such as LinkedIn, Slideshare, Twitter
and Facebook. One key point to take away, is that social media is meant to be interactive. It is not a replacement for advertising
in traditional media, or traditional forms of marketing and communication. Social media does require work, and fairly consistent
attention. To use social media well, it takes time and energy. In larger organizations, and where more complex activities are required,
it takes dedicated staffing. Below are the social platforms that we recommend to start:
LinkedIn
is known to cater to professional audiences. They are also well designed so that search engines (such as
Google and Bing) privilege information on their pages. This means that they will frequently be higher up
when someone runs a web-search on your name (this process is also called search engine optimization).
Slideshare
is a subsidiary of LinkedIn. It allows for effective sharing of presentations to LinkedIn networks.
Slideshare is a great place to post powerpoint presentations after conferences or meetings.
Twitter
is one of the most interactive platforms. Because of this, it is common that news stories will break on
Twitter prior to appearing in traditional media.
Facebook
is often seen as less formal, but it remains important for interaction partly due to its large number of users.
Facebook is a great way to engage in groups that wouldn’t necessarily be on Twitter.
Wordpress
is the blog platform of choice for many academics. It allows for a wide range of customization options
and add-ons that allow for the creation of a simple, or complex blog depending on the needs of the user.
The word blog is a short form of ‘weblog’. As the name implies, blogs provide space for writers to craft
short content that contains embedded links to various other articles, academic journals, websites and
news pieces related to the topic.
Depending on your needs, platforms have advantages and disadvantages. But it is common for people to
have presence on multiple platforms. This guide provides an annotated list of resources to help you as a
researcher or research trainee use social media.
This guide was developed by the KMb Unit at York University and the NeuroDevNet KT Core Last updated November 2014 page 1

2. KT - KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION - GUIDES What is social media & where to start?
This guide was developed by the KMb Unit at York University and the NeuroDevNet KT Core Last updated November 2014 page 2
Can Social Media Increase the Exposure of Newly Published Research?
By: Dr. Cameron Webb, (University of Sydney & Pathology West)
http://bit.ly/1iLVdHX
What is this blog post about?
This blog post discusses using social media to increase exposure of publications. Publications that are
blogged/tweeted about are downloaded ten times more often than those that aren’t. This post explains an
experiment the author completed to determine usefulness of social media. The author found that Twitter was
particularly useful in bringing people to his article.
How can you use it?
• To understand the importance of social media for dissemination of your research
Platforms Discussed: Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress
Top Five Social Media Platforms for Research Development
By: Professor Andy Miah (Chair in Science & Communication, University of Salford, UK, formerly the London School of Economics, LSE)
http://bit.ly/1fBiW3h
What is this blog post about?
This blog post provides a good overview of some of the main social media platforms and their uses.
It also provides tips about maximizing social media use. Provides a concise argument for why academics and
researchers should ‘opt-in’ to social media.
How can you use it?
• Understand the ways you can use social media to add value to your research
Platforms Discussed: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Scholar, Slideshare, YouTube
Using Twitter in University Research, Teaching and Impact Activities
By: Amy Mollett, Danielle Moran and Patrick Dunleavy (LSE Public Policy Group)
http://bit.ly/QM301i
What is this guide about?
This guide is meant to be an introduction and provides some basic ideas to new users of Twitter.
It walks through the basics of the platform and provides a good starting point.
How can you use it?
• As a walk-through for how to set up a twitter account
• To understand:
• twitter terminology that is important when beginning to use the platform
• styles of tweets
• how you can gain more ‘followers’ on twitter
• twitter metrics and connecting twitter to blogs
Platforms Discussed: Twitter, Wordpress
Why use social media?

3. KT - KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION - GUIDES What is social media & where to start?
This guide was developed by the KMb Unit at York University and the NeuroDevNet KT Core Last updated November 2014 page 3
Social Media: A Guide for Researchers
By: Alan Cann, Konstantia Dimitriou and Tristram Hooley
http://bit.ly/1iLUo1R
What is this guide about?
This guide provides background information about social media platforms. It is aimed at academic researchers
and makes recommendations to aid decision-making regarding the use of, and maintenance of social media.
This guide also recommends that researchers use social media platforms to share and conduct research.
How can you use it?
• As a reference for different tools including blogging and microblogging
• To understand why researchers consume, produce or criticize social media
• To understand the importance of curation and quality assurance in social media
Platforms Discussed: Wide variety of platforms – see page 7 of guide.
Why use social media? continued
Planning & Strategic
Social Media Guides:
Social Media Starter Kit
By: Healthy Community (HC) Link
http://bit.ly/1iLVzi3
(French Version) http://bit.ly/1DI4IsB
What is this starter kit about?
This starter kit is meant for people who are new to social media, or looking to transform their presence towards
an integrated social media strategy. One of the key foci of this document is to provide links to tools that can be helpful
in the movement towards strategic communications and social media.
How can you use it?
• As a reference when planning, or designing a social media strategy
• As basis for designing social media strategy by accessing available templates
• To plan, develop policy and strategic approaches to social media
• To think strategically about how to handle conflict, prior to a conflict occurring
Platforms Discussed: Twitter (hootsuite/tweetdeck), general information about other platforms

4. KT - KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION - GUIDES What is social media & where to start?
This guide was developed by the KMb Unit at York University and the NeuroDevNet KT Core Last updated November 2014 page 4
JustPublics@365 Toolkit: A Social Media Guide for Academics
By: JustPublics@365 (CUNY Academic Commons)
http://bit.ly/1fBiAts
What is this guide about?
This guide focuses on social media and academics as related to: 1) increasing media awareness, 2) informing policy,
3) advanced measurements and metrics. This guide is relatively advanced and discusses topics that can help inform
and move social media further, such as data visualization, podcasts and imaging.
How can you use it?
• To take your use of social media to the next level
• To inform your use of advanced metrics and measurement
• When thinking about ways to make your social media channels more engaging
• To learn about data visualization, video and audio formats for dissemination
Platforms Discussed: Wide variety of platforms discussed throughout guide
Social Media and Research Impact
By: Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia)
http://bit.ly/1iLV47B
What is this guide about?
This webpage gives a brief overview of social media use to promote research. Some familiarity with social media
tools is necessary since step by step instructions are not included. This resource explains ways to track research
and discusses platforms that allow various forms of citation management and research sharing. Provides specific
information on sharing research, without a major focus on other forms of social media.
How can you use it?
• To begin thinking about how to track and determine the reach and importance of journal articles
• To learn about sharing research through social media, and tracking using specific tools & metrics
Platforms Discussed: Scopus, Web of Science, ImpactStory, Academia.edu, Mendeley
For other social media for research resources, please visit http://bitly.com/bundles/researchimpact/1b
Advanced resources, metrics and tools
for measuring social media reach.
NeuroDevNet KT Core - KT helps to maximize the impact of research and training in neurodevelopmental disorders
Contact the KT Core: http://neurodevnet.ca/kt-coreteam Twitter: @neurodevnetKT LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/neurodevnet