Journal of Documentation
AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study is to better understand why many researchers do not have a profile on social networking sites (SNS), and whether this is the result of conscious decisions.Design/Methodology: Thematic analysis was conducted on a large qualitative data set from researchers across three levels of seniority, four countries and four disciplines to explore their attitudes towards and experiences with SNS.
Findings:The study found much greater scepticism towards adopting SNS than previously reported.Reasons behind researchers' scepticism range from SNS being unimportant for their work to not belonging to their culture or habits. Some even felt that a profile presented people negatively and might harm their career. These concerns were mostly expressed by junior and midlevel researchers showing that the largest opponents to SNS may unexpectedly be younger researchers.
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