using social media in research

Social Media in Research & Academia

Holly BikEisen Lab, UC Davis Genome Center

#UCDSocMed

How many people have….

…used Facebook?..used Twitter?…read a blog?

…wrote a blog?

….done any of the above in the context of research?

Twitter has 517 million accounts as of July 1, 2012, with 141.8 million of those users in the U.S.

(via Tech Crunch - http://tcrn.ch/Sfy4Cb )

Via Digital Buzz blog - http://bit.ly/RwAtrA

Users of different media– log scale

Chart Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Users of different media - linear scale

Chart Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Social Media tools & their uses

Long-form (more longevity, but more time investment)

• Blogs – independent (e.g. a free Blogger/Wordpress account) or linked to an established blog network (Scientific American, Nature Network)

• Video content – Youtube. Catchy visuals can be more effective than long written pieces. Difficult and time consuming to achieve high production quality.

• Podcasting – iTunes. Another different media form. Also can be just as time consuming to produce as video content.

Social Media tools & their uses

Short-form (more ephemeral, minimal time investment)

• Twitter – messages <140 characters, can post thoughts, soundbytes, links, pictures.

• Facebook – personal profiles (pictures, status updates, etc.), groups and “pages”. But people can be wary about privacy settings (not accepting friend requests professional colleagues, or eschewing Facebook altogether).

• Microblogging – Tumblr (photos, quotes), Pinterest (visual ‘pinboard’)

But first you need to have:

• A professional website – http://hollybik.com, http://jarrettbyrnes.info

• A LinkedIn profile – http://www.linkedin.com

• Your scientific products visible online– Slideshare http://www.slideshare.com – Datasets http://datadryad.org– Mendeley (reference manager) http://mendeley.com

Social Media Glossary

• Post – any new update (blog, twitter, etc.)

• Tweet – a post on Twitter – LT = live tweet, RT = retweet, MT

= modified retweet

• Hashtag – e.g. #UCDSocMed, #scio13 each aggregate common posts on twitter

• Meme – images, videos that “go viral”

Social Media is best leveraged for…

• Community building - Particularly relevant for niche topics, e.g. taxonomists working on a specific group or species

• Content curation - linking to traditional media sources, e.g. news articles

• Increasing the visibility of scientists (branding as ‘experts’)

• Cutting out the middleman - scientists can communicate directly with interested members of the public.– Conversations are also archived for future reference (dependent

on platform)

Social Media is NOT…

• ...a way to reach diverse audiences who aren't looking for your information– platforms that do this would be traditional media like

TV and radio

• …a forum for “one-way proclaiming from the sky”– Social media is about the conversation, which doesn't

work if you don't participate

How do I start?

• Define your goals – What do you want to achieve?

• Define your audience– Who do you envision talking to? Other scientists

(inside/outside your discipline)? Journalists? Educators? The general public?

• Choose specific platforms which help you achieve your goals– How much time do you want to invest? – What medium is best for conferring your message?

http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2012/06/07/reaching-out-so-you-want-to-communicate-science-online-the-flowchart - Figure by Miriam Goldstein

http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2012/06/07/reaching-out-so-you-want-to-communicate-science-online-the-flowchart - Figure by Miriam Goldstein

Leveraging social media in research

Conference tweeting – using Twitter at conferences/meetings

• Tweeting soundbytes from talks – taking notes, disseminating conference content

• Discussing talks with other audience members (and remote participants) during conference sessions

• Networking - interactions on twitter can introduce you to new people, and also serve as icebreakers before you meet other conference participants in real life

Leveraging social media in research

Research Blogging – posting content on your own blog or on a blog network

• Producing blog posts as educational resources, providing access to jargon-heavy information (field-specific journal articles)

• Using blogging as a way to amalgamate scientific literature as your are catching up on reading or doing a literature review.

Examples of Research Blogs

• Scientific Media – Nature, Scientific Ameican – http://blogs.scientificamerican.com– http://blogs.nature.com

• Individual Scientists (or Lab/Group Blogs)– Real names - http://phylogenomics.blogspot.com – Pseudonyms - http://isisthescientist.com

• Company blogs

• Expedition/Outreach blogs

http://deepseanews.com

Mission Statement: Demystifying and humanizing science in an open conversation that instills passion, awe, and responsibility for the oceans.

Our vision of the future is• a public craving ocean exploration and knowledge,• ocean scientists eager to be the guides for both,• resulting in a global commitment for protection and restoration of

our oceans.

Core Values

1. Direct from the bench and the trench. We believe in directly communicating science to the public without barriers and intermediaries.

2. Saying things others do not. We will move the conversation forward by providing ocean science content from the obscure to the controversial.

3. Reverently irreverent. We will be true to who we are in real life, leveraging humor to keep the science dialogue informal and accessible.

4. Promoting ocean literacy. We will help the public make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean and its resources by interpreting the essential principles and fundamental concepts of ocean science.

5. Perspective through a plurality of voices. We believe the conversation between the public and science should not be one way. Vision, growth, and intelligent progress can only come through an open conversation that includes all stakeholders. We strive to provide a platform for diverse voices to be heard.

6. Awareness through scrutiny, not negativity. We believe that a critical assessment of ongoing ocean issues and science is vital, but that open conversation is hindered by negativity. We will strive to be professional, diplomatic, empathetic, and rational in our evaluation.

7. Expanding the culture of ocean science. The ocean and our lives as scientists are part of the larger fabric of human culture. We will highlight areas where the ocean touches our society, and seek to provide a window into our lives both as scientists and a member of the public embedded in ocean culture. We will strive for a future that allows for scientists and the public to be partnering stakeholders in sustaining and preserving our oceans.

8. Call to Action. We believe that an open dialogue is just the first step, and seek to turn words into action.

http://seaplexscience.com/

SEAPLEX Expedition Blog

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

•Scripps Oceanography & Project Kaisei channels

•SEAPLEX playlist

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Seaplex Slides Courtesy ofMiriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

http://sio.ucsd.edu/Expeditions/Seaplex/

Official Site

Seaplex Slides Courtesy of Miriam Goldstein@MiriamGoldste

Potential benefits from social media

• Establishing a reputation as an “expert” by participating in online interactions– Enables networking with academic colleagues and

diverse professionals (journalists, media contacts)

• Scientific benefits that can result– New collaborations, manuscripts, research funding– Obtaining samples or leveraging others’ fieldwork– Interactions across the boundaries of your discipline– Increased efficiency (e.g. obtaining PDFs, getting quick

answers to questions)

Potential benefits from social media

• Online interactions will broaden your real networks– Meet researchers, journalists with similar interests– Spread your reputation without direct interactions

• Provides an escape from the solitary nature of science – commiseration and congratulations – e.g. #FridayNightScience hashtag connects researchers

working long hours in the lab

Perils – external perceptions• Perception and reputation in academic circles –

“When do you have time to do science?”

• Aimless interactions or mis-directed goals • Easy to get overloaded• Lots of different tools• Distractions….

Jeff Atwood, codinghorror.com

Long term needs and outlook

• Online tools are uncharted territory, but will be increasingly important (especially amongst younger demographic groups)

Pressing need for training workshops and reference materials for researchers wanting to incorporate new tools.

• http://www.compassonline.org

• NSF’s “Science: Becoming the Messenger” workshops Photo from http://www.nsf.gov

Long term needs and outlook

• We need METRICS – track and refine use of online tools and dissemination of content– http://impactstory.org – http://orcid.org - unique researcher IDs

– http://www.digital-science.com

Altmetric tooldigtial-science.com

Data will be necessary for promoting acceptance in academic circles; metrics dispel the perception that online activities are a “waste of time”, e.g. in job searches, tenure review

Tips and Guidance

• Social Media requires an initial time investment (setting up accounts, exploring features, connecting with other users)

• Observe and "lurk" for a while as you start to learn how community works

• Explore different tools and decide what works best for you personally. Consistent use of fewer tools is better than spreading yourself too thin.

Tips and Guidance

• Don't be afraid to ask for help – There are many established and friendly

communities online where people are always willing to help

• Social Media will save you time in the long run– Provides filters and customization for the online flood

of information – Many existing tools for aggregation and cross-

platform synching

Useful Tools

• RSS Feeds• Apps – iPhone/iPad, Android– Google Reader for aggregating Blog RSS feeds– Flipboard – turns tweets into a magazine layout

• Blog autoposting tools - http://twitterfeed.com • Tweet timing tools - http://bufferapp.com • Storify – http://storify.com • “Buttons” in your web browser toolbar – Press this,

Tweet this, Pin it

References• Wilcox C. Guest editorial. It's time to e-volve: taking responsibility for science

communication in a digital age. Biol. Bull. 2012 Apr.;222(2):85–7.

• Shiffman DS. Twitter as a tool for conservation education and outreach: what scientific conferences can do to promote live-tweeting. J Environ Stud Sci. 2012 Jul.24;2(3):257–62.

• Priem J, Piowar HA, Hemminger BM. Altmetrics in the Wild: Using Social Media to Explore Scholarly Impact. arXiv.org. 2012 Mar.30;:1–23.

• Ecklund EH, James SA, Lincoln AE. How Academic Biologists and Physicists View Science Outreach. PLoS ONE. Public Library of Science; 2012 May9;7(5):e36240.

• Social Networking for Scientists (Wiki and PDF guide by Christie Wilcox) http://socialnetworkingforscientists.wikispaces.com

• Social Media workshop run at #ESA12http://www.slideshare.net/sandramchung/esa2012-social-media-workshop

Twitter & Social Media Links

• 10 Commandments of Twitter for Academics http://chronicle.com/article/10-Commandments-of-Twitter-for/131813/

• Social Media for Scientists (series by Christie Wilcox)– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/09/27/social-media-for-scient

ists-part-1-its-our-job/

– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/09/29/social-media-for-scientists-part-2-you-do-have-time/

– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/10/04/social-media-for-scientists-part-2-5-breaking-stereotypes/

– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/10/10/social-media-for-scientists-part-3-win-win/

– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2012/03/01/social-media-for-scientists-part-4-on-the-road/

– http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2012/05/16/social-media-for-scientists-part-5-its-time-to-e-volve/

Article Metrics - links

• Is blogging and tweeting about research worth it? (YES - http://melissaterras.blogspot.com/2012/04/is-blogging-and-tweeting-about-research.html

• Scientists: Your number is up - ORCIDs give researchers unique, traceable online IDs (Nature news)http://www.nature.com/news/scientists-your-number-is-up-1.10740

• Wikipedia + Journal Articles - New effort by PLoS to add journal article content to wikipedia. (Scientific American) http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/information-culture/2012/05/14/wikipedia-journal-articles/

• What users do with PLoS ONE papers - HTML pageviews, article downloads, and social media discussions (PLoS Blogs) http://blogs.plos.org/mfenner/2012/07/24/what-users-do-with-plos-one-papers/