Researchers' use of social network sites: A scoping review

•This research looks at the role of social network sites and social media in scholarly life.•Five themes emerged from a scoping review of 80 articles representing LIS research.•Social media networks and tools are increasingly used by researchers for different purposes and to differing extents.•Most of the research was found to be descriptive in nature.•More research founded in a theoretical understanding of science or scholarly communication is needed.

This scoping review of 80 research articles in library and information science (LIS) and related fields, published between 2004 and 2014, focuses on the use of social network sites by researchers. The results show that social network sites are used as part of scholarly life, yet with disciplinary differences. It is also shown that the area lacks methodological, theoretical and empirical coherence and theoretical stringency. The most salient strands of research (general uptake, outreach, special tools/cases, assessing impact, practices/new modes of communication) are mapped and ways to improve research in the field are identified. This provides a first step toward a more comprehensive understanding of the roles of social network sites in scholarship.