The academic web profile as a genre of “self-making”

Abstract

Purpose The activities of academic researchers are increasingly regulated by neo-liberal ideals, including expectations that researchers are visible online and actively promote their output. The purpose of this paper is to explore how researchers take on this responsibility. It uses the concepts of genre, authorship and self-writing in order to understand how the story of an academic life is constructed on academic web profiles. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis was conducted of material on 64 profiles belonging to 20 researchers on institutional and personal websites, as well as on ResearchGate, Academica.edu and Google Scholar. Findings The study shows that while institutional websites primarily contain researcher-produced material, content on commercial platforms is often co-constructed through distributed authorship by the researcher, the platform and other platform users. Nine different ways in which the profile of an “academic self” may be said to highlight the particular strengths of a researcher are identified. These include both metrics-based strengths and qualitative forms of information about the academic life, such as experience, the importance of their research and good teaching. Social implications This study of academic web profiles contributes to a better understanding of how researchers self-govern the story of their academic self, or resist such governance, in online environments. Originality/value The study furthers the knowledge of how researchers make use of and respond to digital tools for online visibility opportunities and how the story of the “academic self” is “made” for such public presentation.

Trust in the academy: a conceptual framework for understanding trust on academic web profiles

“…Although several studies have found that non-use or very limited use of web profiles is common (e.g. Bukvova, 2012;Francke, 2019;Greifeneder et al, 2018;Van Noorden, 2014), other studies with researchers (primarily but not exclusively from the Global North) have shown what features encourage use of profiles both as author and as audience (Greifeneder et al, 2018;Jordan, 2019a;Jordan and Weller, 2018;Kjellberg and Haider, 2018;Meishar-Tal and Pieterse, 2017;Nicholas et al, 2014;Radford et al, 2020;Van Noorden, 2014). These features range from networking opportunities to keeping up-to-date and to promoting one's work.…”

“…The presentation focus on the profile may differ in how much it emphasizes the researcher's life and career moves, the research they conduct, and the outcome of the research and other activities, e.g. publications (Francke, 2019). How each of these foci are described and what basis there is for assessing credibility and attributing trust further depends on for instance how the story is told, what it contains, what external entities confer credibility and what metrics are available, as outlined in the theories of trust and previous research presented above.…”

“…The ASNS platforms are mostly database-oriented and contain primarily “Visit Cards” and lists of publications with related metrics; institutional web profiles are a combination of the two logics, including “Visit Card” information and generally publications, but also narrative accounts of research and experience; whereas the personal websites are often more flexible and oriented towards a narrative logic, with a more descriptive account of the researcher's work and–sometimes–personal situation (comp. Francke, 2019; Hyland, 2012). The profiles that draw on a linear-textual ordering tend to tell a richer story of the researcher self, although detailed CV and publication lists also add information about the researcher (Francke, 2019).…”

“…The descriptive text may serve to present the person as both a researcher (for example by describing the researcher's career trajectory or what attracted them to the academic world in the first place) and as a private person, with a professional past outside the academy, but also with hobbies, family and pets. Adding to the story and the perception given of the researcher are any photos or other illustrations which are found on the profile (Francke, 2019;Hyland, 2011Hyland, , 2012.…”

Measuring visibility of disciplines on Chinese academic web

“…The offline behaviour of web users has casual impact on their online interests [1], especially in academic scenario. Researchers use institutional websites as a major platform to present their profiles composed of descriptive text, curriculum vitae (CVs), publications and projects and to increase their visibility online [2]. Considering that the collaboration patterns offline and online are similar to each other to some extent, the hypothesis of web discipline visibility between institutions is proposed [3], which takes websites as interconnected network, where nodes (institutions) linking to each other likely share similar interests or have some real connections [4], especially for the purpose of research, teaching and social service under academic circumstance.…”