Connected scholars: Examining the role of social media in research practices of faculty using the UTAUT model

• Published in: Computers in human behavior 2012-11, Vol.28 (6), p.2340-2350
• Main Authors: Gruzd, Anatoliy, Staves, Kathleen, Wilk, Amanda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance; Biological and medical sciences; College Faculty; Computer simulation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General Public; Human behavior; Information Dissemination; Information dissemination and communication; Information Technology; Knowledge; Mass Media; Mass Media Effects; Mathematical models; Media; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Scholarly practices; Science and Technology; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social media adoption and use; Social psychology; Technology; Technology utilization; Trends; UTAUT
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.004

► UTAUT is a useful framework to study scholarly intention and use of social media. ► Performance expectancy and social influence showed a positive association with the intention and use. ► Effort expectancy and facilitating conditions showed a negative association with the intention and use. Social media has become mainstream in recent years, and its adoption has skyrocketed. Following this trend among the general public, scholars are also increasingly adopting these tools for their professional work. The current study seeks to learn if, why and how scholars are using social media for communication and information dissemination, as well as validate and update the results of previous scholarship in this area. The study is based on the content analysis of 51 semi-structured interviews of scholars in the Information Science and Technology field. Unlike previous studies, the current work aims not only to highlight the specific social media tools used, but also discover factors that influence intention and use of social media by scholars. To achieve this, the paper uses the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a widely adopted technology acceptance theory. This paper contributes new knowledge to methodological discussions as it is the first known study to employ UTAUT to interpret scholarly use of social media. It also offers recommendations about how UTAUT can be expanded to better fit examinations of social media use within scholarly practices.