Twitter for academic research

Interested in finding out how to use Twitter for academic research?

Have a look at these great prezis, articles, blog posts and guides by academics and library and information professionals from around the UK, as collated by staff at the Judge Institute Information & Library Services here at the University of Cambridge: http://cjbsinfo.posterous.com/twitter-for-academic-research

In particular there is this great guide produced by the LSE, 'Using Twitter in university
research, teaching and
impact activities': http://www2.lse.ac.uk/government/research/resgroups/LSEPublicPolicy/pdf/Twitter_Guide_Sept_2011.pdf. It's based in the social sciences but the main principles and practices apply to all disciplines.

Another really useful resource is the LSE's list of favourite academic tweeters, compiled following a survey. This is the list of STEM tweeters (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics): https://twitter.com/#!/LSEImpactBlog/stem-academic-tweeters/members

Give tweeting a go! You may think you don't have time for it but there are many handy ways of managing your tweets to save you time, and you may find you tap into a whole new world of information and contacts in your field.

Available now: a guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact activities

The short guide to 'Using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact activities', is available to download as a PDF.

Although it's been put together by the LSE (London School of Economics), it is actually quite a generic guide and can be used by all academics and researchers across disciplines.

I think it's a great resource. After a brief explanation of what Twitter actually is, the guide goes on to cover topics including: 

• Setting up your Twitter account;
• Useful Twitter terminology;
• Tweeting styles;
• Building up your followers;
• Using Twitter for research projects;
• Using Twitter in departments;
• Using Twitter alongside blogging;
• Using Twitter in teaching;
• Resources (such as academics on Twitter, related blog posts, guides and articles).

I actually came across this guide having read a Tweet from a fellow librarian. Click here for more information and to download the guide: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/09/29/twitter-guide/