This presentation is a brief look at some of the social media tools that can be used to perform academic research.

1. Social Media for Academic Research: Why Not?
Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS

2. Lessons to Learn
• Why not social media for academic research?
• Tips on Keywords & Video: Web Research
• Just some of the tools
– Google Alerts
– RSS Feeds
– Feedly for RSS
– Social Bookmarking
– Blog Posts
– Social Networks
– Twitter Search
– Other Possibilities
• Resources
• References
• Dr. Michelle Post
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

3. Why not social media for
academic research?
Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega (2011) provides the
following ways of using social media for
academic research.
• Build a network of like-minded scholars
• Follow specific research themes and topics
• Provide service to the scholarly community
• Share my scholarly expertise and build
credibility online
Read the full blog post at http://bit.ly/WnXpM7
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS

4. Tips on Keywords
• Try using a Keyword search tool like
Ubersuggest,
http://ubersuggest.org/
• Use Boolean search operators to
increase the strength of the
keywords.
– AND
– OR
– NOT
– AND NOT
– Double Quotes
– + / - signs
– Parentheses
– Tilde (~)
– Asterisks (*)
• For more Boolean strings, read this,
http://bit.ly/UXt88b
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9diL8-ZpAk
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

5. Tools: Google Alerts
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9lVzA_tDww
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

6. Tools: RSS Feeds
•RSS stands for Really Simple
Syndication
•RSS Feeds lets data come to you
•RSS Feeds can be used for staying
in touch with the world
•RSS Feeds can save you precious
time on researching
•RSS Feeds help you stay focused
when researching
•RSS Feeds allows you to “surf” in
private for the data comes to your
RSS Reader
•RSS Feeds help you work smarter,
not harder
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

7. Tools: Feedly for RSS
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9AZEiWYCHo
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

8. Tools: Social Bookmarking
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjDdiFFZab0
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

9. Tools: Blog Posts
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

10. Tools: Social Networking
“Networking sites are online
communities in which
members can interact in a
number of ways” (University
of South Hampton, n.d.,
para. 1)
Video Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc&list=UUs-
SOeljpyBAvS6fYAR2egw&index=10
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

11. Tools: Twitter Search
• Search Twitter with
your keywords,
https://twitter.com/
search
• Search Twitter using
hash tags (#)
• Find and follow
industry experts and
organizations Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGbLWQYJ6iM
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

12. Tools: Other Possibilities
•Citeulike -
http://www.citeulike.org/
•Slideshare -
http://www.slideshare.net/
•MagPortal - http://magportal.com/
•Google Books -
http://books.google.com/
•Federal Register -
https://www.federalregister.gov/
•CyberJournalist -
http://www.cyberjournalist.net/#st
hash.kW8J8cyL.ch0G3WGC.dpbs

13. RESOURCES
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

14. Dr. Post’s Tools for Research
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

15. Resources: Internet / Academic
• Social Media: A guide for Researchers -
http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-
disseminating-research/social-media-guide-researchers
• Pew Internet: Social Networking -
http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pe
w-Internet-Social-Networking-full-detail.aspx
• Internet Tutorials - http://internettutorials.net/
• Academic Research Toolbox -
http://blog.cometdocs.com/academic-research-
toolbox
• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence -
http://free.ed.gov/index.cfm
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

16. Resources: The Tools
• 10 Google Search Tricks You Might Not Know -
http://mashable.com/2012/03/05/10-google-search-tricks-
you-might-not-know/
• Boolean Search String Hints -
http://www.ilile.org/events/past/seminar_08_03/lesson_pl
ans/wheelersburg/booleansearchstringhints.htm
• Keywords - http://apus.libanswers.com/a.php?qid=146357
• Microblogging -
http://web2practice.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2009/08/micr
oblogging.pdf
• RSS Feeds -
http://web2practice.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2010/04/rss.p
df
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

17. References
Barker, D. I., & Terry, C. D. (2005). Internet research, (2nd ed.). Boston, MA:
Thomson Learning. [Slide 4]
Common Craft. (n.d.). Videos: Social media. Retrieved from
http://www.commoncraft.com/videolist?qt-cc_video_quicktab=1#qt-
cc_video_quicktab
MoreTimeToWrite. (2013, January 18). Setting up Google Alerts [Video].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9lVzA_tDww [Slide 5]
Pachego-Vega, R. (2011, September 11). Using social media to advance your
academic research goals. Retrieved from
http://www.raulpacheco.org/2011/09/using-social-media-to-advance-
your-academic-research-goals/ [Slide 3]
University of South Hampton. (n.d.). Social media for academic research.
Retrieved from
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/library/research/currentawareness/netw
orking.html [Slide 10]
YouTube. (n.d.). User: Leelefever. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/user/leelefever [4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/

18. Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/
Teacher  Connector  Helper 
Dr. Michelle Post is a driven, passionate, and
experienced leader, teacher, social media strategist,
connector, and developer.
Her desire to connect and inspire throughout nearly
three decades of career translates into her ongoing
effort to help the development of ideas, people,
content, and curriculum. Dr. Post is President / CEO of
three ventures: Reach Your Potential, The Post
Institute: Center for Life-Long Learning, and WorkPlace
Influence.