Presentation at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 6 Nov, 2013

1. Towards Digital Scholarship
Noëlle Cowling
Stellenbosch University

2. What is Digital Scholarship?
• “Digital scholarship can encompass both
scholarly communication and publication
using digital media and research on digital
media.” (Abby, 2011).
• Social Scholarship is characterized by
openness, conversation, collaboration, acce
ss, sharing and transparent revision.
(Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2011)

3. Technology has become a major
disrupter of the current global HE
Model
• The rise of the internet and specifically web
2.0 has altered the manner in which
academics engage publicly.
• It has changed the way in which information
and publications are moving differently and
beyond the academy.

4. The Connected Scholar
• Academics are increasingly using new
technologies in order to participate in
wider global networks.
• “We are seeing the development of a
„personal brand‟ and “academic rock
stars” amongst academics as new
technologies allow them to establish a
new and wider audience.

6. What does digital
scholarship mean for Africa?
• Africa‟s current contribution to world science is
approx 1.3 percent. (WOS)
• Many prominent international journals have an
acknowledged bias in favour of English and
researchers in the developed world
• You therefore face additional challenges to
researchers elsewhere
• Digital scholarship and Open Access provides
researchers in the developing world with a
unique opportunity to collaborate and increase
the impact and visibility of their research

7. Africa’s overall trends in
scientific output (1980 – 2004)

8. How can I as a researcher
harness the power of web 2.0?
• Develop a clear (web based) strategy for
yourself and your research:
• Step 1: Retool your online profile
• Step 2: Share and upload all your research
output onto open platforms incl unpublished
papers, presentations etc
• Step 3: Refine your publication strategy with
impact in mind and inc OA (Green & Gold)
• Step 4: Disseminate, engage and collaborate

9. Technologies for Research
• In order to build networks effectively you need to have a
robust and dynamic online presence.
• Be aware of SEO
• Key affordances of some technologies are:
• Marketing (Academia, LinkedIn, Blogging, Slideshare, Twitter)
• Awareness & Dissemination (Academia, Twitter, Slideshare)
• Sharing
(Slideshare, Google+, Academia, Mendeley, ResearchGate)
• Collaborating (Academia, Mendeley, Research Gate, Google
Drive)
• Impact Assessment (Impact Story, ORCID, Google
Scholar, Academia.edu)

10. # 1: Your Profile = Your Brand
Social Networking for Scholars
• Choose at least one platform to create a
current profile
• Academia.edu – sharing research papers
and networking
• ResearchGate – connecting scientists and
fostering collaboration
• Mendeley – referencing and groups
• Google Scholar – Profiling and bibliometrics
• LinkedIn – Professional profile and
networking

12. Creating and Maintaining
your Online Profile

Basic guidelines for retooling your profile
would include:
Be aware of your web results
 Keep a common identity throughout
various platforms
 Professionalism
 Link your various profiles to one another
wherever possible


13. #2: Share your research
• Use web repositories with good SEO to store
your output!
• Utilise Open Institutional Repositories for
curating your research
• You can include unpublished papers and
negative data
• Upload or link your research to public
platforms such as Academia or Research
Gate
• Share your presentations on Slideshare or
Prezzi

15. #3: Your publication strategy
• The SA science system is over focused on
publication as the pinnacle of research
production.
• Choose journals which will showcase your
work effectively
• Recognise the importance of citations and
citation impact (Who is reading your
research and what is the uptake of your
research?)
• Employers and funders place increasing
emphasis on citations and impact

16. Sharing is the key to Research
Success
• Increasingly international collaboration is the
key to increased publication and greater
research impact
• Open journal platforms AJOL and SCIELO
are home to increasingly visible local Open
Access Journals

17. Digital Bibliometrics
• Digital Bibliometrics: Using social media to
measure scholarly impact
• You can measure your research impact using
web tools such as:
• Google Scholar
• ImpactStory
• Academia.edu
• Sign up for an ORCID ID (Open Researcher
and Contributor ID - a unique permanent
identifier for each researcher, even if your name
changes)

20. #4: Dissemination for
increased Research Impact
• We‟re shifting away from a world where the
journal industry sits between the academic
and the audience. We‟re now moving to a
world that‟s more reflective of social
media, where the academic is becoming the
key node of distribution of research.”
(http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/12/academia
-edu-profiles/)

21. Spread the good news…
• Use social networking to announce the
publication of new papers
• Upload your papers
• Twitter is effectively utilised by thousands of
academics for this purpose
• Engage with those who comment on your
research

22. Parting Thoughts…
• Your web presence is an exercise in
consistency
• The power of social networking lies in
economies of scale
• Participating: Social networking is a gift
economy
• Keep working away it!