Do social networking sites enhance the research traits of college students?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-09-2021-0096 |
| Published date | 14 March 2022 |
| Date | 14 March 2022 |
| Pages | 26-34 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Library & information services,Lending,Document delivery,Collection building & management,Stock revision,Consortia |
| Author | Manzoor Hussain,Syed Uzma Kubravi,Fayaz Ahmad Loan |
Do social networking sites enhance the
research traits of college students?
Manzoor Hussain and Syed Uzma Kubravi
Department of Sociology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India, and
Fayaz Ahmad Loan
Centre of Central Asian Studies (Library and Information Science), University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India
Abstract
Purpose –Social networking sites (SNS) have become popular destinations for college students all over the world. The minds of the coll ege students
have been steadily taking over by the influence of social networking, and this can impact their ability for doing research. Against this backdrop, this
paper aims to investigate the role of SNS in enhancing the research activities of the degree college students in the Srinagar district of Kashmir, J&K,
India.
Design/methodology/approach –A survey method was used to conduct the study, and Cochran’s sampling formula was applied to select the
sampling size. Data were collected with the aid of a well-designed and structured questionnaire using Google forms. Besides, the focus group
discussions were conducted to get varied opinions.
Findings –The findings revealed that the majority of the students agree or strongly agree that SNS help them in interacting with researchers,
reading research content, keeping them abreast of research articles, knowing research trends, developing research aptitude and facilitating logical
thinking and reasoning. The study confirmed that SNS help in enhancing the research traits of college students. However, students have been
cautioned to make proper and judicious use of SNS.
Research limitations/implications –The study is limited to the college students of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (India), and the results cannot be
generalised across regions and countries.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, the study, being a part of PhD programme, is the original work of great value. It
investigates the role of SNS in enhancing the research traits of college students and brings into light various hidden facts.
Keywords Social media, Social networking sites, Research traits, Research aptitude, Research performance, College students
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The idea behind social media is far from groundbreaking. In
1979, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis from Duke University had
created the UseNet, a worldwide discussion system that
allowed internet users to post public messages (Kaplan and
Haenlein, 2010). However, the journey of social networking
sites (SNS) started with Six.Degrees.comin 1997, followed by
others such as LiveJournal, Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace,
Flickr, YouTube and Facebook (Aharony, 2012). Now, there
are special categories of SNS dealing with different fields and
contents such as business (LinkedIn), education (Classmates),
research (ResearchGate), writers (MyCreativeCommunity),
books (Shelfari), travel (TravBuddy), religious (MyChurch),
Flickr (photo), Twitter (text) and Last.FM (music) (Hussain
et al.,2017). Now SNS are mushrooming worldwide.
According to Boydand Ellison (2007):
There are hundreds of SNSs, with various technological affordances,
supporting a wide range of interests and practices. Most sites support the
maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers
connect based on shared interests, political views, or activities. Some sites
cater to diverse audiences, while others attract people based on common
language or shared racial, sexual, religious, or nationality-based identities.
Sites also vary in the extent to which they incorporate new information and
communication tools, such as mobile connectivity, blogging, and photo/
video-sharing
Online SNS have become a fixture in the lives of people of all
sets of generation. However, the set of generation that has
rapidly adopted and excessively engrossed into these sites are
youngsters (Boyd,2007a, 2007b). Globally, social networking
usage is particularly high among young adults and college
students because students embrace new media quickly (Al-
Jubayer, 2013;Knight-McCordet al.,2016). Likewise, college
students are more interested in using SNS as compared to any
other age group (Hussain et al., 2021a). College students use
SNS to create a personal profile,upload stories, to connect with
their peers around the globe, share information, reinvent their
personalities and showcase their social lives (Celestine and
Nonyelum, 2018;Knight-McCord etal., 2016). The adoption
of SNS by students has attracted attentionof both scholars and
practitioners, triggering interest in studies that explore their
impact on academic performance (Al-Rahmi and Othman,
2013;Alwagait et al.,2015;Tsholetso et al., 2017;Talaue et al.,
The current issue and full text archiveof this journal is available on Emerald
Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-6247.htm
Information Discovery and Delivery
51/1 (2023) 26–34
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2398-6247]
[DOI 10.1108/IDD-09-2021-0096]
Received 1 September 2021
Revised 4 November 2021
24 January 2022
12 February 2022
Accepted 13 February 2022
26
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