Social Media - A guide for researchers - ICT Digital Literacy

ii. Creation of knowledge
Social media are entering the world of research slowly but with some surprising results. For some
researchers, the idea that social media and tools might have a value in research may come as a surprise.
The generation of data, whether in the laboratory or the library, is often seen as the main aspect of the
job. Literature searches, publication and dissemination are important, but why would you need social
media, especially when there are real risks in communicating what you are doing while you are doing it?
Moving findings into the public domain before they are ready can endanger your ability to publish and
potentially provide people with ammunition that they can use against you. Why make your mistakes in
public? Despite the risks however, there can be real benefits for researchers who feel able to share ideas
and to draw on others for advice. As ever, it is a question of balance and of building positive relationships
with your collaborators.
Researchers are right to have concerns about online disclosure of unpublished materials. But the benefits
can include:
• more effective collaboration
• opportunities to forge new collaborations and benefit from the experience of others
• drawing in expertise to help with research processes (use of techniques, methods and analysis)
• receiving feedback as you go rather than waiting until you reach high stakes moments like submitting
to journals and presenting conference papers
• raising the profile of your work more rapidly than conventional academic publishing allows.
‘
Last week, I needed to know why my cells were dying in culture. For some reason they just
weren’t growing. So I posted my question on Facebook asking if someone knew how to
look after a certain set of cells. A friend got back to me and told me to double the use of
my foetal calf serum in my media. Once I did that, it worked a treat.
Alexander Davenport (Research Assistant, Hemato-oncology)
‘
Managing the balance between openness and disclosure requires you to think carefully about how you
work and what you are trying to achieve. There is no right or wrong answer here.
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