connecting researchers: supporting social media use at the university of bath

Connecting researchersSupporting social media use at the

University of BathJez Cope, Centre for Sustainable Chemical TechnologiesGeraldine Jones, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

● An introduction to social media● A sampler of the sessions we've run● An overview of the support we've provided

What is this session?

What are social media?

The old way…

The new way!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinevan/1225274637/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/khalidalbaih/5653817859/

"Participants are different. To participate is to act as if your presence matters, as if, when you see something or hear something, your response is part of the event."

Clay Shirky (2010). Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. Allen Lane. ISBN 9781594202537

What is social media?

● Blogs○ WordPress.com○ Blogger

● Microblogs○ Twitter○ Google+

● Social networks○ LinkedIn○ Facebook

● Bookmark sharing○ Diigo○ Delicious

● Citation sharing○ Zotero○ Mendeley

● Slide & doc sharing○ Slideshare○ Scribd

● Data sharing○ FigShare

● Plus much more…

Value for researchers

● Attract collaborators● Attract funding (private/public)● Attract PhD students● Get more citations● Debate & share ideas with peers● Influence policy● Knowledge transfer● Engage with the public

"I first started using social media because it was clear to me that as researchers we needed to publish more effectively to support better development of theory around what were very empirical areas. So it was initially about effective data sharing. Then I got interested in the more general ideas of effective communication on the web and found there was a community already out there. I wanted both to be able to record my own ideas in this space in a way that was ‘native’ to it and to engage with that community, so blogging was a natural course to take."

Cameron Neylon (Senior Scientist, Biophysics)

Supporting researchers

● Our approach○ External expert speakers○ Panel session○ Hands-on workshops

Our approach

● They're just tools● Think about:

○ Aims & objectives○ Audience○ Measuring success

● Focus on "why-to" and "when-to" as much as "how-to"

● Demonstrate good practice

External expert speakers

● Social media users who are themselves researchers○ Dr Tristram Hooley, University of Derby○ Dr Alan Cann, University of Leicester

● Understand the issues which affect researchers

● Speak to researchers on their own level

Panel session

● Focused on blogging (in our case)● Panel comprised local academics who used

blogs in various ways● Less structured — good opportunity for

open-ended discussion

DVIDSHUB on Twitter: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/4304099382/in/photostream/

Hands-on workshops

● Most tools are actually quite intuitive● Many people would try social media out if

they have a bit of hand-holding

● Small group workshops● Specific tasks, e.g.:

○ Set up an account○ Publish a short blog post○ Connect with the person sat next to you

Your turn

Conference hashtag: #darts3

Tasks:

● [Sign up at twitter.com]● Tweet to the hashtag● Reply to someone's tweet● Share a link to something

usefulImage by MDGovPics on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/6756411895/

Discussion points

In groups of 3–4:

● Do you use social media? If so how?● What do your users think of social media?● How can libraries support researchers in

using social media?

Summary

● Social media is a great opportunity for researchers

● Many researchers want to learn more● The tools are intuitive…● …but novelty makes them scary

Resources

● Cann, A.J., Dimitriou, K., Hooley, T. (2011). Social Media: A Guide for Researchers. Research Information Network http://bit.ly/KGrpSa

● Our Diigo bookmarks:http://groups.diigo.com/group/connected-researcher-bath