Social Media for Social Work Researchers: What, Why and How?

The use of social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, has grown rapidly over the past decade and is changing the way we communicate, interact, and obtain and share information. Social media also has significant implications for the ways in which researchers and academics communicate, collaborate, and learn, as well as ways in which publishers and researchers measure impact. Indeed, researchers have a great deal to gain by using social media for various aspects of their work. Social media offers a range of tools to facilitate the dissemination, use and discovery of information, increase the visibility and impact of one’s work, connect with other academics and engage with the public, curate online material for research and teaching, and create and manage one’s online presence.  Despite the increase in use of social media by the general public, and more recently by researchers and academics, there are still many researchers who do not actively use social media in their work. There may be numerous reasons for this, including a lack of awareness of the potential benefits, types and uses of social media for research, or concerns about the potential pitfalls of using social media or technology. This workshop is designed to provide an introduction to the what, why and how of using social media for research and scholarship to help social work researchers take advantage of the uses and benefits of social media in their work.