Use of social networking sites by research scholars of the University of Delhi: A study

The main purpose of the paper is to explore how research scholars of University of Delhi integrated Social Networking Sites (SNSs) into their daily communication for research work. A structured questionnaire was designed and personally distributed 160 respondents. Most used SNSs for “lurking” while few used such sites for promoting one’s research. Additionally, most respondents preferred the SNS Facebook and ResearchGate for academic purposes. Collaborative and peer-to-peer learning were common benefits from SNSs while some expressed concern regarding cyber-bullying and privacy. Finally, a majority of respondents said using SNSs may be a waste of time.

► Survey of University of Delhi research scholars explored use of social networks.
► Most respondents use social networking sites daily and prefer Facebook.
► Most respondents use social networking to “lurk” more than any other activity.