The Digital Scholar Revisited

The book The Digital Scholar was published in 2011, and used Boyer’s framework of scholarship to examine the possible impact of digital, networked technology on scholarly practice. In 2011 the general attitude towards digital scholarship was cautious, although areas of innovative practice were emerging. Using this book as a basis, the author considers changes in digital scholarship since its publication. Five key themes are identified: mainstreaming of digital scholarship, so that it is a widely accepted and encouraged practice; the shift to open, with the emphasis on the benefits that open practice brings rather than the digital or networked aspects; policy implementation, particularly in areas of educational technology platforms, open access policies and open educational resources; network identity, emphasising the development of academic identity through social media and other tools; criticality of digital scholarship, which examines the negative issues associated with online abuse, privacy and data usage. Each of these themes is explored, and their impact in terms of Boyer’s original framing of scholarly activity considered. Boyer’s four scholarly activities of discovery, integration, application and teaching can be viewed from the perspective of these five themes. In conclusion what has been realised does not constitute a revolution in academic practice, but rather a gradual acceptance and utilisation of digital scholarship techniques, practices and values. It is simultaneously true that both radical change has taken place, and nothing has fundamentally altered. Much of the increased adoption in academia mirrors the wider penetration of social media tools amongst society in general, so academics are more likely to have an identity in such places that mixes professional and personal

What do academics ask their online networks? An analysis of questions posed via Academia.edu

Social networking sites (SNS) aimed at academics have the potential to enhance academic practice through developing an online academic identity and as a portal to further opportunities for collaboration and communication. This paper explores part of the communicative affordance offered by academic SNS through an analysis of the questions posed by academics via the Academia.edu website

Health 2.0: The Scholarly Communication Practices of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences Users on Academia.edu

Many academics are active users of social media and some even use these sites for professional networking. However, while scholars can use traditional social networking platforms to network with their peers, share research articles, and keep up to date in their fields, there are some limitations that emerge when these sites are used for academic purposes. Academic social networking sites have emerged as one viable alternative, as they allow scholars to share their research and to network and collaborate with others while maintaining a professional online presence. Although many studies have examined the information behaviour of those who use academic social networking sites, such as differences in discipline and academic status, no studies to date have explored these characteristics in the health and medical field. This study seeks to address this gap by focusing on the scholarly communication practices of faculty members and graduate students in two disciplines – Medical Sciences and Health Sciences – on Academia.edu

AN OVERVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF ACADEMIC SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AS STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY OF ACADEMICS IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES

Purpose: The paper x-rayed the benefit and opportunities of academic social networking sites to academicians and researchers. The paper recommended that more funds should be injected into our public institutions and research centers across Nigeria, an alternative source of power supply, training, and re-training of academicians and researchers on the use of academic social networking sites. Approach: the paper reviewed the literature to reveal the various types of academic social networking sites The literature reviewed factors militating against the use of academic social networking in Nigeria. Findings: The paper showed that academic social networking sites play a key role in making academicians and researchers to increase their visibility and representation and this will further facilitate their research activities, information sharing, collaboration, information consumption, and knowledge updates on the trend in academic disciplines. Originality/Value: This paper provided valuable insight into the varying types of academic social networkin

Consensus guidelines for digital scholarship in academic promotion

Copyright: © 2020 Husain et al. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Introduction: As scholarship moves into the digital sphere, applicant and promotion and tenure (P&T) committee members lack formal guidance on evaluating the impact of digital scholarly work. The P&T process requires the appraisal of individual scholarly impact in comparison to scholars across institutions and disciplines. As dissemination methods evolve in the digital era, we must adapt traditional P&T processes to include emerging forms of digital scholarship. Methods: We conducted a blended, expert consensus procedure using a nominal group process to create a consensus document at the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors Academic Assembly on April 1, 2019. Results: We discussed consensus guidelines for evaluation and promotion of digital scholarship with the intent to develop specific, evidence-supported recommendations to P&T committees and applicants. These recommendations included the following: demonstrate scholarship criteria; provide external evidence of impact; and include digital peer-review roles. As traditional scholarship continues to evolve within the digital realm, academic medicine should adapt how that scholarship is evaluated. P&T committees in academic medicine are at the epicenter for supporting this changing paradigm in scholarship. Conclusion: P&T committees can critically appraise the quality and impact of digital scholarship using specific, validated tools. Applicants for appointment and promotion should highlight and prepare their digital scholarship to specifically address quality, impact, breadth, and relevance. It is our goal to provide specific, timely guidance for both stakeholders to recognize the value of digital scholarship in advancing our field. [West J Emerg Med. 2020;21(4)882-890.]

Academic Social Networking Sites: A Comparative Analysis of Their Services and Tools

In the last decade there has been an emergence of Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNSs). Each site offers its own combination of tools and capabilities to support research activities, communication, collaboration, and networking. Given their variety, it might be challenging for academics to evaluate and use them. We conducted an exploratory inductive comparative study of the services and tools of a select set of ASNSs. We argue that maintaining multiple profiles might be time-consuming and propose starting a discussion about how we can make this process less cumbersome. We expect that our findings will help academics and researchers make informed decisions about their choice of ASNS.ye

From finding a niche to circumventing institutional constraints: Examining the links between academics’ online networking, institutional roles, and identity-trajectory

Academics are increasingly encouraged to use social media in their professional lives. Social networking sites are one type of tool within this; the ability to connect with others through this medium may offer benefits in terms of reaching novel audiences, enhancing research impact, discovering collaborators and drawing on a wider network of expertise and knowledge. However, little research has focused on the role of these sites in practice, and their relationship to academics’ formal roles and institutions. This paper presents an analysis of 18 interviews carried out with academics in order to discuss their online networks (at either Academia.edu or ResearchGate, and Twitter) and understand the relationship between their online networks and formal academic identity. Several strategies underpinning academics’ use of the sites were identified, including: circumventing institutional constraints; extending academic space; finding a niche; promotion and impact; and academic freedom. These themes also provide a bridge between academic identity development online and institutional roles, with different priorities for engaging with online networks being associated with different career stages

Scholarly Research Outputs and Vulnerability of Nigerian Lecturers to Predatory Journals

This study investigated scholarly research outputs and vulnerability of Nigerian lecturers to predatory journals. Five objectives were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted using the online Google Form to collect data/responses from lecturers across board in Nigeria. The population of the study comprised lecturers in Nigeria. The sampling technique used for the study was the total enumeration sampling technique (107) as the whole responses were analysed using frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation for easy appreciation and comprehension, with the aid of SPSS Version 23. It was found out that: The research outputs by Nigerian lecturers appear to be a little bit low, Nigerian lecturers obviously know the reputable journals that are available, many Nigerian authors and writers do not publish in high reputable journals, some of the challenges recorded are high cost/finance, problem of delayed review process, high rejection rate by reputable journal and rigorous online submission process. Also, the idea of compulsorily publishing in high impact journals rather than focus on the quality of the research output, before promoting lecturers is misplaced and should be reviewed. Recommendations were made in line with the findings of the study

Social Media for Collaborative Learning and Engagement: Adoption Framework in Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia

This paper addresses collaborative learning and engagement via intention towards social media use that have been tackled by some researches in terms of its impacts on students’ academic performance. However, only a few of such studies have been carried out in the area of collaborative and engagement use of social media for enhancing researchers’/students’ performance. The present study attempts to determine the way social media can be utilized to enhance researchers’ performance via collaborative and engagement by applying the theory of technology acceptance model (TAM) along with constructivism theory. According to the results, collaborative learning and engagement positively and significantly impact perceived ease of use (PE), perceived usefulness (PU), and intention to use social media (IU) through the social media use in the context of Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s1p24