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If used well, social media can be hugely beneficial for academics. The challenge is in using it well. Some of the tools discussed in Time Management may be beneficial here. Social media can help with many aspects of academia, including: keeping up to date with new papers; discussing papers with authors; getting feedback on your own work; ‘networking’; initiating research collaborations; and asking for advice on specific or general difficulties you encounter during the research process.
In this video presentation, I share all of the tips I’ve learned through the years of running personal, journal, and society social media accounts:
Twitter for Scientists
- This short e-book by Dan Quintana on ‘Twitter for Scientists’ is an excellent guide to getting started on Twitter and making the most of it within academia. The book also includes a one-month Twitter bootcamp with daily tasks to ease you into academic Twitter.
On the subject of Twitter, I’d recommend following the following generic and discipline-specific accounts to get started:
Generic Science Twitter Accounts
- The Twitter thread below suggests some individual accounts to follow:
When you follow someone on Twitter, you curate your future thoughts, ideas, and influences.
— Stuart McErlain-Naylor (@biomechstu) March 2, 2021
These five people outside my discipline have influenced my thinking recently (thread - no particular order). pic.twitter.com/g4hCzPWJQ1
A few more suggestions:
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@Edit0r_At_Large Anonymous tweets from a journal editor
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@BantshireUni A spoof University account
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@iamscicomm An account by different scientists each week, giving tips on various aspects of scientific communication.
Using the hashtags #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #phdchat or #ECRChat can help to engage with the academic community, as can various discipline and methodology specific hashtags.
Biomechanics Twitter Accounts
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@biomechstu That’s me – I like to share things that I find useful or interesting, such as these resources.
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@sportsbiomechj The journal Sports Biomechanics, tweeting new papers as they’re published. I’m the Social Media Editor so this is another shameless plug (sorry!). You can also follow the Editorial Board of Sports Biomechanics here.
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@ISBSOFFICIAL The International Society of Biomechanics in Sports.
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@Biomechanist_ The Biomechanist is an online community of biomechanists, also posting tutorials and student guides to different topics.
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@BiomechanicsDay National Biomechanics Day - a worldwide initiative introducing Biomechanics science to high school students, their teachers, and parents
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@ISBiomechanics The International Society of Biomechanics
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@JBiomech The Journal of Biomechanics
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@JApplBiomech The Journal of Applied Biomechanics
You can also search for particular scientists or journals. After following a few people within your discipline, you will start to come across others within that area.