The topic of social media and its use by academics is not new – a quick Google search returns more than 340,000,000 results. Social media already has a track record of use by academics, whether in the classroom or in the research process. However, many questions are being raised as social media take hold in academia:
Do academics know all the tools they have at their disposal?
Are they making the most of them?
The topic of social media may not be new, but a book offering guidance in the use of these tools is a novelty. And this is precisely the value of this compilation of chapters by different researchers. The editor starts by providing a brief introduction in which she explains the main theme of the book, as well as what is meant by social media and why academics should care about it. The editor continues by bringing these contributions together in a book that is well structured and easy to read.
The 12 chapters in the book are organised around two themes. Part 1 covers the nuts and bolts of social media for academics. It explores specific uses of social media and provides practical tips for getting started with a variety of social technologies. The part starts with one of the most common tools, the blog; an overview of networking and social networking websites follows. Tools for collaborative work are also discussed, as well as how to use advanced search tools and strategies in order to find valuable resources. All researchers need to find and manage references, and social media also provides tools for this purpose; this topic is also discussed in Part 1. This part concludes with the presentation of a variety of devices that can be used by academics.
Part 2 deals with the second theme, putting social media into practice. Accordingly, it offers examples of Web 2.0 implementation and covers such topics as privacy settings related to the majority of social networking websites, the use of social media in academic libraries, how to use social media as a pedagogical tool and so on.
This book is relevant to anyone concerned with social media and e-research. It helps researchers in looking for social media, identifying tools, understanding their functioning and making the most of them in their research activity. This book is also suitable for lecturers seeking to present to their students a fresh perspective on how to do research and how to use new tools in the research process.
