The Role of Social Media in Research and Development

Abstract

Social media have evolved from a mere source of entertainment to a serious and effective marketing and communication tool in the hands of competent and knowledgeable communication professionals. Nowadays there is no doubt that the use of social media in corporate communications increases the level of transparency in a company and makes information exchange faster, which leads to higher levels of work efficiency and trust among employees.

The focus of this study was the research field in terms of organizational communication. The aim was to find out whether social media are used by researchers as an information channel and networking tool and to propose ideas for the development of these social media. The study concentrated on the basic functions of social media in research, their advantages and disadvantages and future developments in social media, so that they can become a more valid and effective information channel. The research was conducted with the help of a qualitative survey, which contained 13 questions requiring an essay answer. Ten researchers of different cultural and educational backgrounds working primarily in Finland participated in the survey.

The results of the survey showed that there is a high degree of importance regarding social media in research. Like other media, social media proved to be an essential part of daily work communication in the research field. The author analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of using social media in research and proposed some ideas for improvement in this area.