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The present review is an endeavour to understand the use of Academic Social Networking (ASN) sites by academics and researchers during the 2001-2020. The literature indicates existence of disciplinary differences in choice of ASN platforms as well as frequency of use of a particular platform by users belonging to a particular discipline. The strong disciplinary influence could be attributed to variations in social and cultural practices of a particular discipline. The review finds professional visibility as one of the outstanding motivating factors for academics and researchers to join ASN sites. Seeking scholarly answer, accruing citations, seeking expert, sharing research literature by availing self-archiving facilities of ASN sites, exploring collaborative research avenues and job seeking are some other important motivators. The review noticed that alternative metrics have become a strong contender for measuring research impact. The review also found age and gender discrimination, snooping, academic cyber bullying, flooding of ASN sites with substandard literature as some concerns which need concerted attention and suggests more research in these fronts and accordingly modification of ASN interfaces to make them more responsive to user's needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altmetrics are a relatively new phenomenon in research. These metrics measure the attention that research articles receive from nontraditional venues such as social media and the Internet. This study examined how these metrics affect both the readership and citation of articles in communication research. The study examined citation data alongside altmetrics data from academic social networking sites ResearchGate and Mendeley, as well as mentions on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Results indicated that all altmetrics positively correlated with citation. Posting articles on sites such as ResearchGate and Mendeley not only impacted readership, it increased the likelihood of citation. Other variables that improved readership and citation were social media mentions, downloadable articles, coauthorship, and an active online presence among scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Through a two-stage survey, this paper examines how researchers judge the quality of answers on ResearchGate Q&A, an academic social networking site. Design/methodology/approach: In the first-stage survey, 15 researchers from Library and Information Science (LIS) judged the quality of 157 answers to 15 questions and reported the criteria that they had used. The content of their reports was analyzed, and the results were merged with relevant criteria from the literature to form the second-stage survey questionnaire. This questionnaire was then completed by researchers recognized as accomplished at identifying high-quality LIS answers on ResearchGate Q&A. Findings: Most of the identified quality criteria for academic answers—such as relevance, completeness, and verifiability—have previously been found applicable to generic answers. The authors also found other criteria, such as comprehensiveness, the answerer's scholarship, and value-added. Providing opinions was found to be the most important criterion, followed by completeness and value-added. Originality/value: The findings here show the importance of studying the quality of answers on academic social Q&A platforms and reveal unique considerations for the design of such systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by a mature research base on what enhances the student experience, knowledge of the nature of the contemporary student and advances in technology and internet use, we can explore the potential to further evolve socialisation as part of the student experience. This paper reports on the evaluation and introduction of what has become known as 'online social networking' as one of the ways in which students can become 'socialised' within their university environment. The aim was to provide an educationally focused online social networking environment that is serious in its purpose and objectives, but which retains the user attractiveness of the major general purpose social networking systems. The range of technology options available is discussed and conclusions are drawn which indicate that a successful form of educational online social networking can be established with very simple technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]