11:32, 8 August 2010
So, why do researchers blog? It is an intriguing research question and Sara Kjellberg (a researcher at Lund University) just published an interesting paper on the subject. Based on a set of interviews, she describes the main motivations for being a blogging researcher. In a nutshell the results suggest that blogs offer an environment to share knowledge in a more creative way and that blogging can create a feeling of being connected – and I think, judging from my own experience, this is one of the most enjoyable parts of blogging (and not only in an academic context!). At the same time it should be emphasized that blogging is an individual exercise so every blogger uses the blog for different things and with different motivations. Creativity is important and there might be ways of how to use blogs in an academic context that are not yet discovered! In a way, blogging is not for everyone – but you need to give it a try to find out for yourself!
And I think this article is also a good read for researchers that are not (yet) blogging! In fact it is the perfect summary to motivate researchers to use this tool. So if you are a researcher who is thinking about whether to start a blog (maybe on Ideas on Europe), why not read a peer reviewed journal article on the subject?
Abstract:
The number of scholarly blogs on the Web is increasing. In this article, a group of researchers are asked to describe the functions that their blogs serve for them as researchers. The results show that their blogging is motivated by the possibility to share knowledge, that the blog aids creativity, and that it provides a feeling of being connected in their work as researchers. In particular, the blog serves as a creative catalyst in the work of the researchers, where writing forms a large part, which is not as prominent as a motivation in other professional blogs. In addition, the analysis brings out the blog’s combination of functions and the possibility it offers to reach multiple audiences as a motivating factor that makes the blog different from other kinds of communication in scholarly contexts.
Interestingly, I found a reference to this article on twitter! So what about “Motivations for twittering in a scholarly context” Or being a “twittering researcher” – I think I just found a good topic for a research paper…
