Presentation on research into social media practices and social media practices for research delivered at McMaster University, 14th August 2017

1. Research into social media practices and
social media practices for research
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
@hazelh
Presentation delivered at the DeGroote School of Business,
McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
14th August 2017
Dr Hazel Hall, Professor of Social Informatics

2. http://hazelhall.org
Slides on SlideShare at
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
@hazelh

3. Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis
Descriptio (1614)
John Napier 1550-1617

5. • 7 Academic staff (teaching and research)
• 1 Researcher
• 8 Research students
• 1 Emeritus professor
• 1 Visiting professor (Brian Detlor)
• Several associates
https://hazelhall.org/centre-for-social-informatics/

6. • 7 Academic staff (teaching and research)
• 1 Researcher
• 8 Research students
• 1 Emeritus professor
• 1 Visiting professor (Brian Detlor)
• Several associates
• Democratic digital engagement
• eGovernment
• Information policy
• Information seeking behaviour and use
• Knowledge management
• The Information Society
• Online communities
• Open data and open government
https://hazelhall.org/centre-for-social-informatics/

7. Presentation themes
1. CSI research into information behaviours and
social media use
• Historic examples
• Current work
2. Building and maintaining profiles on online
platforms for academic work purposes

8. Research into social media practices and
social media practices for research

9. Prior research on information behaviours
and social media use
1. How ‘can’ social media platforms promote
reflective learning?
2. To what extent is online information sharing
socially motivated?
3. What are the risks and opportunities of social
media adoption for collaborative work in business
environments?

10. Reflective learning and socially motivated
online information sharing (1 case study)
Cohort Site for reflection Research output
2003/4 Closed learning logs
2004/5 Blog environment internal to
module developed by one of
the module tutors
Hall & Davison (2007): blogs
for peer learning and support
(905 comments on 79 blogs)2005/6
2006/7 ‘Blog’ environment internal to
Napier University supported
by WebCT Portfolio function
Hall & Widen-Wulff (2008):
socially motivated online
information sharing2007/8

11. Reflective learning and socially motivated
online information sharing (1 case study)
Cohort Site for reflection Research output
2003/4 Closed learning logs
2004/5 Blog environment internal to
module developed by one of
the module tutors
Hall & Davison (2007): blogs
for peer learning and support
(905 comments on 79 blogs)2005/6
2006/7 ‘Blog’ environment internal to
Napier University supported
by WebCT Portfolio function
Hall & Widen-Wulff (2008):
socially motivated online
information sharing2007/8
Hall, H. & Davison, B. (2007). Social software as support in hybrid
learning environments: the value of the blog as a tool for reflective
learning and peer support. Library and Information Science
Research, 29(2), 163-187. (DOI 10.1016/j.lisr.2007.04.007.) Full text
available from publisher with subscription access Full text of
accepted manuscript available from the Edinburgh Napier repository
Hall, H., & Widen-Wulff, G. (2008). Social exchange, social capital
and information sharing in online environments: lessons from three
case studies. Studia Humaniora Ouluensia, 8, 73-86. Full text
available from the Edinburgh Napier repository

14. Comment analysis: social media platforms
‘can’ promote reflective learning
• … to a certain extent: one fifth demonstrated
reflection
• But lack of debate
• Bias towards agreement: a quarter began ‘I agree’
(or similar)
• Prior claims in literature exaggerated
• ‘Can’ does not mean ‘will’
• Reliance on anecdote
http://www.napier.ac.uk/~/media/worktribe/output-
238428/halldavisonblogsdraftpdf.pdf

15. Online information sharing is socially
motivated (3 case studies)
• Information sharing online takes place within
exchange economies
• Gift economies and generalised exchange ‘work’
in online environment when contacts have
established offline relationships
• Soft rewards and social infrastructure are valued
more than other incentives
• In-group privilege limits sharing with outsiders
http://www.napier.ac.uk/~/media/worktribe/
output-233352/hallwidenwulff20081pdf.pdf

16. Risks and opportunities of social media
adoption for collaborative work (2008)
• Survey, focus group & interview: 96 contributions
• Sense that project came ‘too early’
• ‘Don’t know’ and neutral survey responses
• Two thirds survey respondents indicated impacts of
adoption yet to be felt, interviewee caution
• Enthusiasm for social media adoption
• Poor implementation viewed as biggest risk
• Potential value of microblogging identified
http://www.napier.ac.uk/~/media/worktribe/output-
967091/opportunity-and-risk-in-social-computing-
environments.pdf

17. Current work on information behaviours
and social media use
1. Reputation management in a digital world: the role of online
information in the management and evaluation of personal
reputations - Frances Ryan
2. The impact of networking supported by social media on
career management skills – John Mowbray
3. Easier, faster, better: social media as facilitators of tacit
knowledge sharing between employees within public sector
organisations – Iris Buunk

18. http://www.francesryanphd.com/

20. • People rarely consider links between online
information sharing and personal reputation yet…
• … they present different aspects of their persona
for different audiences
• …they share different types of information on
different platforms
• … they practise self-censorship and ‘manage’
their connections
Online information and personal
reputation: key preliminary findings
How does this articulate with
‘traditional’ means and
measures of reputation
management and evaluation
as studied extensively
elsewhere in Information
Science (bibliometrics)?

21. Online information and personal
reputation: resources
Ryan, F., Cruickshank, P., Hall, H. & Lawson, A. (2017). Blurred reputations: managing
professional and private online. Paper presented at Information: interactions and impact 2017,
Aberdeen, 27-30 June 2017.[Abstract available from the Edinburgh Napier repository; slides
available from SlideShare.]
Ryan, F., Cruickshank, P., Hall, H., & Lawson, A. (2016). Managing and evaluating personal
reputations on the basis of information shared on social media: a Generation X perspective.
Information Research, 21(4).
Ryan, F., Cruickshank, P., Hall, H., & Lawson, A. (2016). Personal online reputation: the
development of an approach to investigate how personal reputation is evaluated and managed in
online environments. In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Data Information and Information
Management Conference (IDIMC). (pp. 98-108). Loughborough: LISU.
Ryan, F., Cruickshank, P., Hall, H. , & Lawson, A. (2015). Assessing the available and accessible
evidence: How personal reputations are determined and managed online. Paper presented at
Information: interactions and impact 2015, Aberdeen, 23-26 June 2015. [Abstract available; slides
available on SlideShare]

22. https://johnmowbray.org/

23. Plus earlier analysis of secondary data (16-
21 year-olds) from Understanding society:
the UK household longitudinal study

24. Networking & career
management skills: key
preliminary findings
• SNS membership is more prevalent amongst the
young employed than the young unemployed
• Females are proportionately higher users of SNS
than males (and also more likely to be in work)
• Social media have a profound informational
impact when appropriated for networking
• Aid development/use of weak ties
• Provide access to high levels of (informational) social
capital
How can this work develop the
theoretical perspectives of
Wilson’s general model of
information behaviour?

25. Social networking and job
seeking: resources
Mowbray, J., Hall, H., Raeside, R. & Robertson, P. (2017). Job search information behaviours:
an ego-net study of networking and social media use amongst young jobseekers. Paper
presented at Information: interactions and impact 2017, Aberdeen, 27-30 June 2017. Abstract
available from the Edinburgh Napier repository; slides available from SlideShare.]
Mowbray, J., Hall, H., Raeside, R., Robertson, P. (2017). The role of networking and social
media tools during job search: an information behaviour perspective. Information Research,
22(1).
Mowbray, J., Raeside, R., Hall, H. & Robertson, P. (2016). Social networking sites and
employment status: an investigation based on Understanding Society data. In: Proceedings of
the 2nd International Data Information and Information Management Conference (IDIMC). (pp.
75-85). Loughborough: LISU.
Mowbray, J. & Hall, H., Raeside, R. & Robertson, P. (2015). Could social networking online help
NEET young people gain employment? Paper presented at Information: interactions and impact
2015, Aberdeen, 23-26 June 2015. [Abstract available; slides available on SlideShare.]

26. http://www.napier.ac.uk/people/iris-buunk

27. Data collection
• Online survey of members of an online social
platform for public sector workers
• Interviews with 20 self-declared heavy social
media users amongst 1062 survey respondents

28. • Online social platforms offer affordances that
increase 2 types of network awareness
• ‘knowledge awareness’ – of others’ skills/expertise
• ‘ambient/peripheral awareness’ – of others’ activities
• Tacit knowledge of others thus quickly rendered
visible and accessible with opportunities for
• Enlarging networks and creating new sub-networks
• Developing new relationships, e.g. to learn from
others, reduce duplication of effort
Social media and tacit knowledge
sharing: key preliminary findings
How may this work prompt
reconsideration of the role of
technology in tacit knowledge
sharing, e.g. Nonaka’s (20th
century) concept of Ba?

29. Social media and tacit
knowledge sharing: resources
Buunk, I., Hall, H. & Smith, C.F. (2017 in press). Skills in sight: how social media
affordances increase network awareness. In: Proceedings of the 18th European
Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM) 2017. Reading: Academic
Conferences Ltd. [Abstract available from the Edinburgh Napier repository.]
Buunk, I., Hall, H. & Smith, C.F. (2017). Tacit knowledge sharing in online
environments: locating “Ba” within a platform for public sector professionals.
Paper presented at Information: interactions and impact 2017, Aberdeen, 27-30
June 2017. [Abstract available from the Edinburgh Napier repository; slides
available from SlideShare.]
Buunk, I., Hall, H., & Smith, C.F. (2017). Tacit knowledge sharing: the
determination of a methodological approach to explore the intangible.
Information Research, 22(1).

30. Research into social media practices and
social media practices for research

31. Established measures of academic impact
Bibliometric indicators measure ‘academic’ impact
of individuals’ output
• Quantity and quality of publications
• Quantity and quality of citations to those publications
• Codified in citation databases

32. Alternative impact measures
Altmetrics assess the impact of individual output
using various criteria across a range of platforms
• recommended by others
• praised by opinion leaders
• mentioned in social media
• etc.
• downloaded
• acknowledged
• included in syllabi
• quoted in the press
• cited in policy documents

33. 56 indicators of impact
Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity (CSID), University of
North Texas (2011)
files.figshare.com/1067961/56_impacts_preprint_5_26_13.pdf

34. • Judgements of esteem rely on more than
“mere” publication record.
• Visibility is becoming increasingly important
to building a personal profile and the
reputational benefits that this brings:
• Collaboration approaches
• Speaking invitations
• Committee service
http://hazelhall.org/2013/07/14/altmetrics-achieving-and-
measuring-success-in-communicating-research-in-the-digital-
age

35. • Peer-reviewed papers in international journals
• Peer-reviewed conference papers at international
conferences
• Peer-reviewed abstracts for papers at international
conferences
• Peer-reviewed papers for practitioner journals
• Practitioner/trade press articles
• Keynotes and invited papers
• Unpublished conference papers
• Other presentations for external audiences: international
• Other presentations for external audiences: UK
• Research reports
Codified and uncodified output

36. Dissemination/engagement activities and
impact: relationship
RiLIES project recommendations
• Ensure your project has high level
support
• Include target research audience(s) in
the execution of the research
• Take into account target audience(s)
preferences for consuming research
output
• Present output in a way that is
accessible to the target audience
http://lisresearchcoalition.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rili
es1_report.pdf

37. Dissemination/engagement activities and
impact: relationship
RiLIES project recommendations
• Ensure your project has high level
support
• Include target research audience(s) in
the execution of the research
• Take into account target audience(s)
preferences for consuming research
output
• Present output in a way that is
accessible to the target audience
http://lisresearchcoalition.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rili
es1_report.pdf
Much of this is about how the work is
disseminated, in particular:
• output format (content creation)
• accessibility (sharing)
- and this is where social media come in…

38. There are lots of places ‘to be’
• (Local profiles)
• CV services
• e.g. LinkedIn
• Resource sharing sites
• e.g. Flickr, Pinterest,
SlideShare,
SoundCloud, Vimeo,
YouTube
• ID services
• e.g. Orcid,
ResearcherID
• Profile services
• e.g. Academia.edu, Google
Scholar, ResearchGate
• Blogging and microblogging
platforms
• e.g. CoverItLive, Medium, Quora,
The Conversation, Tumblr, Twitter
WordPress
• Impact measurement tools
• e.g. Klout
• Collaboration sites
• e.g. Mendeley
• Social networking sites
• e.g. Facebook, Lanyrd

39. So where should you be?
For wide dissemination of publications
• ID services (e.g. Orcid, ResearcherID) and research profile
services (e.g. Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ResearchGate)
For wide dissemination of presentations
• Resource sharing sites (e.g. SlideShare, SoundCloud, Vimeo,
YouTube)
If you are interested in tracking your impact
• Impact measurement tools (e.g. Klout)
If you want to keep up to date/others updated
• Twitter
-

40. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓

41. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓
2. Your academic identity
registered on ID services
(e.g. Orcid, ResearcherID) ✓

42. So where should you be: essentials?
1. Your CV on LinkedIn ✓
2. Your academic identity
registered on ID services
(e.g. Orcid, ResearcherID) ✓
3. Your publication track record
on profile services (e.g.
Academia.edu, Google
Scholar, ResearchGate) ✓

43. Where is Hazel?
https://hazelhall.org/profiles-on-other-platforms/

44. Should you set up a personal blog?
1. Do you want/need a full “independent” online profile?
2. Do you enjoy writing?
3. Are you prepared to give up your free time to blog
regularly?
4. What will be your communications strategy?
• What will you call your blog?
• What will it cover?
• How often will you post to it?
• How will you direct traffic to it?

45. Blog alternatives
• In-house news platform

46. Blog alternatives
• In-house news platform
• Update function on LinkedIn

47. Blog alternatives
• In-house news platform
• Update function on LinkedIn
• Ad hoc blogging on Medium,
guest contributions to The
Conversation

48. Is this kind of engagement with social
media worth it?
https://www.tomgauld.com/

49. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/201
2/04/19/blog-tweeting-papers-worth-it/
Yes: to widen dissemination

50. Yes: for career development

51. Contact Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
@hazelh
h.hall@napier.ac.uk
+44 0131 455 2760

52. Research into social media practices and
social media practices for research
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
@hazelh
Presentation delivered at the DeGroote Business School,
McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
14th August 2017
Dr Hazel Hall, Professor of Social Informatics