Presentation given at the CILIPS University, College and Research Group Scotland 'Social media: Tools for research and collaboration' workshop at Edinburgh University on 23 March 2012.

1. Social media: Tools
for research and
collaboration

2. A conversation...
• Who am I? Who are you?
• What is social media?
• So what, who cares?
• What do you think of social media?
• Where does it fit in the research process?
• Who’s using it? And how?
• What do you need to consider?
• How can you find out more?
• Oh, and some gratuitous pictures of cats...

3. MA(Hons) History Data inputterer at Scottish Office
and Agriculture and
Economic History Fisheries Department
Various IT
qualifications
PGDip
Various posts in Department for Work and Information
Pensions: front line service, IT support and and Library
management, information security, risk Studies
management
Knowledge
Librarian in the
Website manager Management
Scottish
at UK Trade and Officer with the
Government
Investment Scottish Centre for
Library Service
Regeneration

5. What is social media?

8. Lies, damned lies and
statistics...

9. One third of women aged
18-34 check Facebook
when they first wake up
(even before going to the
bathroom)
http://mashable.com/2010/07/07/oxygen-facebook-study/

10. social media is bigger
than porn

12. http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3224

14. Content
Community Collaboration
Communication

16. Social media is…
• for my social life only • for my professional life
• too time consuming too
• information overload • a time and effort saver
• an invasion of my • focused information
privacy • a way to build my
• yet another thing to do reputation
when I’m busy already • an integral part of my
• blocked at my daily professional life
workplace • Something I’m trusted to
use wisely at work

17. Social media and research

18. social media is
disruptive

19. http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-disseminating-research/use-and-relevan

20. Research Information Network. 2011. Social Media: A guide for researchers

21. 1.Identification of knowledge

25. http://www.avltheatre.com/forte/2008/01/featured_post_the_long_tail_an.html#more

26. 2. Creation of knowledge

31. http://amusingspace.blogspot.co.uk/

32. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ailsah/sets/72157625800277725/

33. http://www.youtube.com/user/greenphd1/feed

35. http://changingpractice.blogspot.co.uk/

36. 3. Quality assurance of
knowledge

37. http://cities.wikispaces.asu.edu/

39. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/

41. 4. Dissemination of knowledge

43. http://blogs.capita-libraries.co.uk/panlibus/2011/06/30/seven-habits-of-highly-effective-libr

48. Online identity

54. Some takeaways
• social media can play a role across the research cycle
• researchers who are active users feel that social
media offers them benefits in their professional life
• give yourself permission to use social media in a way
that you feel most comfortable
• don’t feel that you have to be ‘everywhere’
• if you really want to understand what social media
can do for you and your research, you need to start
experimenting!

55. Technology does not automatically
improve conversation,
communication or behaviour
Theodore Zeldin

56. Resources

57. http://www.diigo.com/list/lelil_/social-media-tools-for-research-and-collaboration

58. Social media: A guide for researchers
www.rin.ac.uk/Social-media-guide
VITAE Digital Researcher
www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/346891/Digital-Researcher-online.html
The Digital Scholar: How Technology Is Transforming Scholarly
Practice. Martin Weller
www.bloomsburyacademic.com/view/DigitalScholar_9781849666275/boo
Social media training resources produced by researchers at the
University of Warwick
markcarrigan.net/2012/02/10/social-media-training-resources-produced-b

59. A guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact
activities
blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/09/29/twitter-guide/
Robert Gordon University Social Media Toolkit
www.rgu.ac.uk/staff/administration-and-professional-departments/livew
#phdchat
phdchat.pbworks.com/w/page/33280234/PhD-Chat
PhD2Published social media posts
www.phd2published.com/tag/social-media/
Nottingham University collection of social media resources
www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/resources/socialmedia/index.asp

60. DiRT: Digital Research Tools Wiki
digitalresearchtools.pbworks.com/
JISC Web2practice
web2practice.jiscinvolve.org/wp/
Networked Researcher
www.networkedresearcher.co.uk/
Create Change
www.createchange.org/index.shtml
Connected Researcher
wiki.bath.ac.uk/display/connectedresearcher/Home
East Midlands Research Support Group: Dissemination of your research
www.nottingham.ac.uk/toolkits/play_3861

61. about.me/LesleyThomson