Research Publishing & Impact: Engage with Your Community: Networks & Social Media

Introduction

Online academic networking sites, such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate, and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be useful tools to disseminate your research to a wider audience and to engage with your research community.

Something to bear in mind is that they require checking and updating on a regular basis. However, if you have the time to invest in them, they can make a great contribution to your online presence. After setting up your profile/s, perhaps select one or two of the options on this page to explore.

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Academia.edu

Academia.edu is an online networking site where you can share your research and connect with other academics around the world. 

With the free version of Academia.edu you can:

• Manage a public profile to share academic papers, research collaborations, webinars, conference talks, presentations, etc.

• Follow other like-minded academics, make posts, send messages, and read others' research

• Look up, download, and save articles and research papers relating to specific research interests

• See the number of times your profile and documents have been viewed

ResearchGate

ResearchGate is another popular online networking site for researchers with around 20 million members.  

With the free version of ResearchGate you can:

• Ask research-related questions and get advice in your field of research

• Follow other researchers and access their research outputs

• Share draft versions of your publications to receive feedback and advice 

• Share published work in your profile where copyright permits

• Find collaborators

Disclaimer

Please note, the Otago University Library is not responsible for the creation of academic network or social media accounts; this is the responsibility of the individual academic or student. Information provided on this page is intended to give an outline of some popular networking platforms. It is certainly not exhaustive. We recommend you do your own research to determine which networking sites suit you and your research needs.

• The University of Otago Social Media Policy covers the setting up and use of social media accounts by staff in the course of their employment. 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world's largest online professional networking site. A LinkedIn profile can be a great contribution to your online academic profile. Its wide global use means it has a large audience of diverse people in the private and academic spheres.

LinkedIn Groups enables you to share your research outputs and data, find collaborators, post and view jobs, and establish yourself as an expert in a specific field.

Learn more:

For advice on building an academic LinkedIn profile, see 7 tips to supercharge your academic LinkedIn profile. 

Twitter/X

Twitter (now called X) is a microblogging social media platform where you can post short comments, add media links, and coin hashtags - hashtags are used to index keywords and topics. You can also follow other academics, organisations, or individuals and accounts that pique your interest. X allows you to reach a much larger audience than the academic networking sites listed on this page. 

Learn more:

For helpful tips on creating a Twitter/X account as an academic, see A Beginners Guide to Joining Academic Twitter (2020) 

#AcademicTwitter is a useful hashtag for researchers that allows you to network with other researchers, stay up to date with popular topics in research, and share your ideas with colleagues around the world.

@otago is the University of Otago's Twitter/X account, which you can tag to reach a wider audience. 

Facebook

Facebook is an online social media and social networking site that makes it easy for you to share content with family, friends, and colleagues. While you might not want to use your personal Facebook account for professional purposes, you can create a page for events or projects you want to promote or showcase. 

Department Facebook pages:

You can also check to see if your department has a Facebook page. Posting your research on a departmental Facebook page might help you reach a wider audience.

• For an example of a departmental Facebook page, see OU School of Performing Arts.  

Further information

For more information please contact your Librarian at your campus library.

* Please note, you will need to ensure that you own the copyright of any publication you want to upload to networking sites or social media platforms, or check that you have permission from the publisher. Alternatively, go to Sherpa Romeo or How Can I Share It? to check publishers' open access policies.

Before uploading your research to networking sites, consider depositing it in Otago's institutional repository, OUR Archive (more info below).