Cuarta entrada - tarea 4

 

Social networks are becoming more popular in the research arena. There are different alternatives but probably Google Scholar and ResearchGate are the most popular ones across the numerous disciplines - as in other social media platforms, allowing to share, collaborate and follow on discussions among others. 

On a study conducted by Nature, researchers were asked to explain how they use the main social networks. The results showed differences between the options considered, ranging from mostly following discussions on Twitter, to discovering recommended articles in Mendeley or contact other researchers on ResearchGate. According to this study, ResearchGate is by far the most popular network within researchers. 

Results also differ depending on the academic field. For that reason, and in order to make the most of the social networks, it is important to identify the most relevant ones within each field of study or line of research. Once a network has been identified as useful, it is important to build a completed profile, reflecting on the areas of research, interests and work done. 

However, and as it happens with social networks in general, there are some risks or disadvantages associated to the use of social networks in research. One of the main limitations is the fact that some researches might be outstanding when it comes to managing their profiles and get attention, but not so much on their research. That is, this might bias the attention they and their papers receive. So, yes, social networks can be beneficial from a personal branding perspective, but it should be balanced. 

The following screenshot includes a summary of some of the main tools used within this course in Symbaloo: 

Overall, this course was interesting although I did not feel comfortable with some of the activities requested (i.e. Google Scholar). I think it would be useful to run a quick survey at the beginning to understand which tools are known by the students to run the course based on that as some of the tools are well known (ResearchGate, Google Scholar or Google Drive).