Educating Social Scholars: Examining Novice Researchers’ Practices with Social Media

Recent articles in the educational research field have called for a stronger research focus on students' learning with everyday technologies in-and-out-of classrooms and on the changing nature of scholars' practices in light of technological advancements. We present findings from a mixed methods study of whether and how novice researchers understand and practice social scholarship - a concept currently being debated in various disciplines - which seeks to leverage social media affordances to create expanded sites for research collaboration, peer review, dissemination, and evaluation of research impact. We found that novice researchers focused almost exclusively on social scholarship of discovery and much less on interdisciplinary, teaching, or applied scholarship. Insights from this study will appeal to those interested in examining the theory and design of graduate student learning and faculty development.