Content uploaded by Małgorzata Bartosik Purgat
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Małgorzata Bartosik Purgat on Aug 10, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
181
Małgorzata Bartosik-
Purgat,
Poznan University of Economics
and Business,
Poznan, Poland,
SOCIAL MEDIA AND HIGHER
EDUCATION – AN INTERNATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
E-mail: m.purgat@ue.poznan.pl
Nela Filimon,
Universitat de Girona,
Girona, Spain,
E-mail: Nela.Filimon@udg.edu
Meltem Kiygi-Calli,
Okan University,
Tuzla –Istanbul, Turkey,
E-mail:
meltem.kiygicalli@okan.edu.tr
ABSTRACT. This study explores the use of social media in higher
education with a particular focus on the role of cultural and
socioeconomic differences. The dataset, built on surveyed
respondents from China, Poland, Spain, Turkey and United States,
was analysed using quantitative techniques that allowed us to test
various hypotheses. Findings show that the use of social media for
educational purposes is determined by socio-demographic variables
(gender, age, education level) that returned different social media
users’ profiles across countries. Overall, the results indicate that
social media is a useful tool of communication between teachers and
students but that national cultural differences must be taken into
account in the design of subjects and teaching materials used by
teachers in the digital environment. From another point of view, the
results related with the cultural differences and the socio-economic
determinants may give insight to the marketers in the promotion of
education related products such as books, language schools, degree
and certificate programs in social media.
Received: July, 2016
1st Revision: November, 2016
Accepted: December, 2016
DOI: 10.14254/2071-
789X.2017/10-1/13
JEL Classification
: I23, I25,
J1
Keywords
: social media, higher education, international markets.
Introduction
The impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be seen in
almost every area of human activity, ranging from entertainment, information searching,
decision making-processes, purchasing, and professional issues in education where traditional
styles and methods are often replaced with modern ones that are designed to support and
facilitate time-saving, effort and costs in everyday routines (Nichols and Anderson, 2005;
Skiera et al., 2015). In keeping with this, we focus on the importance of social media (SM) in
the field of education (Gammon and White, 2011; Ngai et al., 2015; Richardson, 2006) from
the perspective that individuals expand their knowledge to a varying extent.
SM tools enable involvement and cooperation between students and teachers, as well
as peers from different parts of the world (Bartow, 2014; Kim et al., 2014). In this respect the
increasing usage of SM by both teachers and students has attracted substantial research
attention aimed at assessing, for example, their role in higher education (see e.g., Tess, 2013,
for a comprehensive overview of the literature); research that has failed to produce clear-cut
Bartosik-Purgat, M., Filimon, N., Kiygi-Calli, M. (2017), Social Media and Higher
Education – An International Perspective, Economics and Sociology, Vol. 10, No 1,
pp. 181-191. DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2017/10-1/13
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
182
results. Thus, some authors advocate greater use of SM in classrooms because of their
capacity to enhance creativity and diversity in teaching styles as a means of fostering active
learning for students (Anderson, 2007; Selwyn, 2010); enhancing pedagogical choice for
teachers (McLoughlin and Lee, 2010); as a lever for promoting learning in a dynamic and
networked social environment (Hung and Yuen, 2010); and as a tool to enhance students’
interest, engagement, control and responsibility for their education (Blankenship, 2010,
p. 12). Other studies advocate a cautious adoption and usage of SM for educational purposes,
stressing the necessity of some a-priory literacy in SM. According to a recent US survey
carried out among 1000 college and university faculty members, cited by Blankenship (2010,
p. 12), attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness and critical consumption are
the five main problems that need to be taken into account in order to ensure an effective and
well-informed usage of SM. All in all, there are few comparative studies of the impact of SM
on individuals’ behaviour, and in particular, on their learning habits.
The main aim of the paper is to identify if the socio-demographic variables (gender,
age, education level) influence the use of SM for educational purposes for students from
various environments such as China, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United States (US). This
research topic is both important and pertinent given the increasing international composition
of the classrooms (i.e., Erasmus programmes, international masters programmes, etc.). In
order to design teaching methods that are adapted to the digital environment it is therefore
important for teachers to understand how students’ socio-economic and cultural profiles
influence their preferences for SM’s usage. The theoretical analysis has been based on literary
studies and empirical data collected in several countries in order to identify the differences
and similarities among them. To collect the data for the exploratory empirical study the
authors used two research methods: PAPI (Paper and Pen Personal Interview) and CAWI
(Computer Assisted Web Interview).
The structure of this paper is as follows: first, the relevant literature is reviewed. This
is followed by a description of the applied methodology. Then the results of the empirical
study are presented and discussed. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations and
suggestions for future research.
1. Literature overview
Social media is an area of interest and research for many practitioners and researchers
studying the influence of these media on different aspects of human life and activity (Merrill,
2011; Patino et al., 2012). Although SM were originally intended to enhance social
interactions they soon became a tool that was also used by firms, for example, to build brand
loyalty, and by other institutions, such as universities, libraries, etc. (Cassidy et al., 2011).
Due to their nature, SM can be successfully used for educational purposes because according
to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, p. 61) they are a set (group) of applications that are technically
and ideologically based on the foundations of Web 2.0, which enable the creation and sharing
of content among users (Williams et al., 2012). Moreover, although networking is treated as
an informal method of communication and information gathering, informal learning can be an
essential element in higher education (Kassens-Noor, 2012). According to Hicks and Graber
(2010) Web 2.0 tools offer a new form of learning and teaching. In their opinion the research
in this field should be further developed with the purpose of providing teachers with new
solutions that can enrich their teaching techniques (see also Kassens-Noor, 2012).
Research evidence shows that the most popular SM are the ones that connect people
into networks of friends who share common characteristics, for example, Facebook,
Instagram or LinkedIn (Duggan et al., 2015). Thus, users can search for people that are able
to provide particular information, help them to find it, or transfer knowledge to other people
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
183
(Ray, 2014; Schouten, 2011). Facebook, in particular, is a source that is easily accessible and
also simple to use, and is often employed by students to ask questions about studies and to
study interactively (Benson et al., 2015; Gregory et al., 2014; Hussain, 2012). Highly popular
media are also those that enable Internet users to express themselves on a specific topic in the
form of the written word, oral expression, taking and collecting photos or recording videos,
for example, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and also to use the information placed
there by other users (Hamid et al., 2015; Munguatosha et al., 2011; Nakagawa and Arzubiaga,
2014; Schouten, 2011; Ward, 2006).
The popularity of various global SM is culturally differential. Many SM are available
in most countries, however in some countries digital communities use local media that are
often equivalent versions of the international ones (Ahmed, 2011). This is the case, for
example, in China, where Youku is replacing YouTube, and Renren or Qzone are replacing
Facebook (Saw et al., 2013; Zhang and Xueb, 2015).
2. Hypotheses development
The main research question to be answered here is: what are the determinants of the
use of SM for educational purposes? The literature widely presents the results of various
projects relating to the use of the Internet in general, and of ways and areas for using SM
(Bolton et al., 2013; Hamade, 2013; Lin and Lu, 2011). However, there are few studies
directly related to educational purposes (Hamid et al., 2015; Sheldon, 2015) or to the cultural
and demographic factors that differentiate this use (Furner and George, 2012). Much of the
literature presents studies on the use of SM in higher education from the perspective of the
universities (Gammon and White, 2011; Nicholas et al., 2011; Tenopir et al., 2013; Zhang et
al., 2014), however, it is difficult to find studies that have undertaken empirical research to
address the theoretical issues included in this paper. Therefore, this is an attempt to fill this
gap. Based on the literature review, observation, and experience, the authors have developed
and empirically tested the hypotheses, whose background has been presented in the following
paragraphs.
Gender. Gender is often indicated as an important determinant differentiating the use
of new ICTs. Recent evidence shows that SM are more often used by women than men
(Madden and Zickuhr, 2011; Nadkarni and Hofmann, 2012). Women also spend more time
using SM and have more friends on SM (Moore and McElroy, 2012). Ruleman (2012) shows
that women are more likely to use the Internet to communicate (via e-mail, SM), as well as
for academic purposes, whereas men more often search for information about current events,
entertainment, and use the Internet to play games (Jones et al., 2009; Junco et al., 2010;
Muscanell and Guadagno, 2012). Thus, based on existing research evidence, the following
hypothesis has been formulated: H1. Women use SM for educational purposes to a higher
degree than men.
Age. A very large group of SM users belong to the generation of the so-called digital
natives (Brenner and Smith, 2013; Prensky, 2001). The report by the Pew Research Center
shows that 86% of SM users are undergraduate students (Smith et al., 2011). This is a group
that is said to be different in that it learns in a different way to others, it has different social
behaviour and different expectations towards life, and a different level of education. Digital
natives are people who prefer to receive information quickly by means of modern
technological solutions and methods (ICTs). They also exhibit low tolerance for traditional
methods of transmitting knowledge, for example, lectures (Jones et al., 2009). In studies of
American youth conducted by Ruleman (2012), it was found that younger students were more
likely than their older fellow students to use Facebook and text messages while studying.
Considering the features and style of behaviour of digital natives, the following hypothesis
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
184
has been formulated: H2. Younger people (<30 years) more often use SM for educational
purposes than do older people.
Education level. Educational level is usually associated with people’s age. Students`
use of SM (like e.g. Twitter) can increase their engagement through interpersonal connections
and communication (Kahn et al., 2016). Research evidence shows that undergraduate students
are active users of SM, which are used both for academic purposes and for information
searching in everyday life (Duggan et al., 2015). Along the same lines, Park (2010) indicates
that undergraduate students use SM to a greater extent than post-graduates (PhD students).
The research by Head (2013) shows that doctoral students prefer materials available in printed
journals and e-journals rather than using SM. Kim, Sin and Tsai (2014) found similar results
regarding the use of Wikipedia, that is, a lower level of education was associated with a more
frequent use of Wikipedia’s sources. Based on the existing evidence the following hypothesis
has been formulated: H3. SM are more often used for educational purposes by
undergraduates and graduates (Bachelor and Master) than by schoolboys/girls or PhD
students.
3. Method
Methodologically, this paper takes a deductive and exploratory approach and the aim
is to check the accuracy of the hypotheses arising from the literature study The research
presented in this paper was conducted in the 2016 in China, Spain, Poland, Turkey, and the
United States. The main criteria for building the sample of countries were the local cultural
heritage (to assist with identifying the differences or similarities among cultures), and the
possibilities for preparing and conducting the test procedure and the fieldwork. Two
techniques were used for the data collection: PAPI (paper and pen interview) and electronic
forms CAWI (computer assisted web interview). The measurement instrument was a
standardized questionnaire prepared for the purpose of this research. The element
differentiating the research questionnaire in particular markets was the language. In the
preparation of the different versions of the questionnaire a back translation procedure was
used in order to eliminate any mistakes stemming from linguistic, lexical or context
differences (Craig and Douglas, 2006).
The final dataset gathered information from 1376 respondents, including 295 from
China, 296 from Poland, 130 from Spain, 260 from United States, and 395 from Turkey. The
data was collected, firstly, by random sampling method, but the response rate was very low
(3.5%), and authors decided to use non-random sampling. Designated research assistants
gathered the questionnaires from the respondents in each market. The differences in size
between the groups researched and the sampling method that was applied set limitations on
the interpretation of the results obtained which, in this case, should not be fully generalized.
4. Data analysis and Results
4.1. Respondents’ profiles
The respondents in each country were people who had agreed to participate and were
willing to describe how they use SM for educational purposes. The study participants were
distinguished according to three age groups: 15-20 years, 21-30 years, and 31 years or over
(Table 1). In China, Poland, and Turkey respondents within the 21-30 age group
predominated. This age group was also dominant in Spain. On the other hand, in the United
States most participants belonged to the 15-20 years age group.
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
185
Table 1. Respondents’ profile (%)
Determinants
Spain
China
Poland
United States
Turkey
Gender
Women
50.8
68.1
70.9
56.5
48.7
Men
49.2
31.2
27.7
43.1
49.7
No data
0.0
0.7
1.3
0.4
1.5
Age
15–20 years
40.8
14.2
35.5
79.6
9.6
21–30 years
50.8
66.4
63.5
16.9
76.5
31 years and over
0.0
19
0.7
3.5
13.4
Education Level
Schoolboy/girl/college
0.77
17.29
4.42
33.08
5.06
Bachelor degree
93.38
27.79
76.91
58.47
73.0
Master degree
3.08
42.03
16.33
5.77
7.65
Postgraduate, PhD student
2.77
11.86
2.34
2.69
14.29
Source: own research.
Taking into account the diversity of the dataset, it should be emphasised that it was
difficult to determine whether there was a significant dominance of any gender. There was
almost gender parity in most of the countries (e.g., Spain, United States, and Turkey).
However, women predominated in the Chinese and Polish groups.
In terms of level of education, it should be noted that young people, that is, college
students (in the case of the United States) and bachelor and master’s students predominated in
almost all countries in the dataset. The largest group classified as schoolboy/girl was observed
in the United States, which is also related to the structure of this group in terms of age. In
Poland, Spain, and Turkey bachelor students were dominant, while master’s students formed
the largest group in China (see Table 1).
4.2. Patterns of SM users
To examine the interdependence between socio-demographic variables such as gender,
age, education level, and the use of SM for educational purposes, several indicators of
behaviour were calculated and analysed. Thus, respondents were asked to specify the
frequency of using various SM (very often, often, from time to time, rarely, very rarely, never)
for educational purposes (see Table 2). Based on a pilot questionnaire tested in Poland, the
five most often indicated educational activities were: (1) using SM to look for information
and materials for study (ED1); (2) communicating with students in order to send or receive
study materials (ED2); (3) communicating with teachers in order to send or receive study
materials (ED3); (4) communicating with teachers about organisational study issues (ED4);
and (5) establishing contacts by means of SM in order to learn and practice foreign languages
(ED5).
For the reliability analysis Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated and the value obtained
(α=0.78) has confirmed the reliability of the proposed scale (Nunnally, 1978).
Additional measures, such as Cramer’s V factor and Pearson’s chi-square statistics,
were used to determine the strength of the interdependence between the socio-demographic
variables in each country and the behavioural patterns emerging from the use of SM.
The results for the Pearson’s chi-square statistics and the Cramer’s V factor, which are
presented in Table 2, show that there are differences between the countries analysed with
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
186
respect to the correlation between the socio-demographic determinants and the use of SM for
educational purposes. The significant correlates (p-value<0.05), are discussed below.
Table 2. Correlations between gender, age, education level and the way of using SM for
educational purposes
Sign of
activity
Spain
China
Poland
United States
Turkey
χ2
V
χ2
V
χ2
V
χ2
V
χ2
V
Gender
ED1
12.8*
0.32
4.5
0.13
7.6
0.16
4.3
0.13
16.65**
0.21
ED2
6.2
0.21
9.35
0.18
16.5**
0.24
4.8
0.13
4.2
0.1
ED3
3.8
0.17
8.16
0.17
8.09
0.17
3.5
0.11
10.6*
0.17
ED4
5.5
0.2
4.3
0.12
4.7
0.13
4.48
0.13
6.5
0.13
ED5
6.05
0.23
9.8
0.18
9.16
0.18
8.88
0.19
17.91**
0.22
Age
ED1
4.8
0.2
41.24**
0.27
14.3
0.16
3.7
0.08
13.36
0.13
ED2
4.4
0.19
33.51**
0.24
11.14
0.14
7.4
0.11
60.3**
0.3
ED3
5.87
0.22
25.6**
0.21
8.11
0.12
13.04
0.16
49.69**
0.26
ED4
5.27
0.21
34.45**
0.25
13.3
0.15
11.03
0.14
57.7**
0.28
ED5
12.95**
0.33
20.01
0.19
11.24
0.14
6.7
0.11
40.99**
0.24
Education Level
ED1
13.65
0.19
57.43**
0.23
13.7
0.12
17.25
0.15
21.75**
0.13
ED2
14.46
0.19
72.4**
0.25
21.16
0.15
15.17
0.14
78.8**
0.3
ED3
9.33
0.15
64.0**
0.24
12.2
0.11
36.7*
0.23
49.05**
0.26
ED4
21.24
0.23
65.99**
0.24
11.48
0.11
23.54
0.17
57.7**
0.28
ED5
3.2
0.09
24.43
0.15
25.86*
0.17
15.71
0.14
40.99**
0.24
*Correlation is significant at the p<0.05 level.
** Correlation is significant at the p< 0.01 level.
ED1 - ED5 - ways of using SM for educational purposes.
Source: own research.
Gender. Analysing the criterion of gender (on the basis of Pearson’s chi-square) it
should be emphasised that in two groups – China and the United States – no significant
interdependence between this variable and using SM for educational purposes (p>0.05) was
recorded. In Spain and Poland only one statistically significant correlation (p<0.05 and
p<0.01) was observed. Thus, in Spain, gender differences are significant in the use of SM,
with women using them more often than men to search for information and learning materials
(ED1) (p<0.05). The strength of this relationship (as indicated by the Cramer’s V factor) is at
the moderate level (V=0.32). In the Polish group, the correlation (p<0.01) between gender and
the ED2 group (the use of SM to exchange study materials with other students) was significant
for women, as more frequent users, and the strength was lower than in Spain (V=0.24).
Among the Turkish respondents three uses of SM for educational purposes were found to be
significant with respect to gender: whereas Turkish women use SM more often than men for
ED1 (p<0.01; V=0.21), most of the Turkish men prefer to use SM for communication with
teachers (ED3; p<0.05; V=0.17) and to make international acquaintances in order to learn
foreign languages (ED5; p<0.01; V=0.22). In China and the United States no significant
gender differences were found.
Overall, the results of testing our first hypothesis (H1) are rather heterogeneous,
indicating the existence of significant gender differences in European countries (Spain,
Poland, Turkey) as compared with China and the US.
Age. The analysis of the correlation between age and the use of SM for educational
purposes showed significant interdependencies in two countries – China and Turkey. In China
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
187
age greatly influences the use of SM in relation to ED1 (p<0.01; V=0.27), ED2 (p<0.01;
V=0.24), ED3 (p<0.01; V=0.21), and ED4 (p<0.01; V=0.25). All these activities are more
often performed by individuals within the 21–30 age group. In the Turkish group, age is a
significant variable in differentiating the use of SM in relation to almost all educational
purposes (except for ED1): ED2 (p<0.01; V=0.3), ED3 (p<0.01; V=0.26), ED4 (p<0.01;
V=0.28), and ED5 (p<0.01; V=0.24). As in China, individuals within the 21–30 age group also
predominate. In Spain, age had a significant impact for only one activity, ED5 (p<0.01;
V=0.33), and this was for respondents within the 21-30 age group. No significant correlations
were found for Poland and the United States, showing that in these two countries the SM
users exhibit rather similar behaviour in terms of using SM for ED1, ED2, ED3, ED4, and ED5,
regardless of age. Thus, the validity of the H2 hypothesis was proved in China, Turkey, and to
a lesser extent in Spain. In Poland and the United States age does not differentiate using SM
for educational purposes.
Education level. The findings on the significance of education level on the use of SM
for educational purposes show similar results to those for age, with significant differences in
the Chinese and Turkish groups. In the Chinese group, education differentiates the use of SM
in relation to ED1 (p<0.01; V=0.23), ED2 (p<0.01; V=0.25), ED3 (p<0.01; V=0.24), and ED4
(p<0.01; V=0.24). The greatest use of SM for educational purposes was observed among the
Chinese master’s students. In the Turkish group, bachelor students exhibit significantly
different behaviour when it comes to the use of SM for all of the five educational purposes
considered here: ED1 (p<0.01; V=0.13), ED2 (p<0.01; V=0.3), ED3 (p<0.01; V=0.26), ED4
(p<0.01; V=0.28), and ED5 (p<0.01; V=0.24). In Poland, education level was significant in
the use of SM for ED5 (p<0.05; V=0.17), and in the US for ED3 (p<0.01; V=0.23). In both
cases bachelor students dominate as far as these behaviours are concerned. In the Spanish
group all users of SM behave similarly in their use of SM for educational purposes, regardless
of education level. Therefore, the validity of the H3 hypothesis was proved in relation to the
Chinese and Turkish groups and, to a lesser extent, the Polish and American groups.
Discussion and Conclusions
This exploratory analysis was intended to address some existing gaps in the area of
SM use for educational purposes from a comparative international perspective. The results
show that national cultural differences exist in the use of SM for educational purposes.
Although the lack of a random sampling procedure in the selection of the respondents
imposes some limitations on the generalisation of the results, it is worthwhile noting that a
significant number of studies in the field, where the observation unit is the pupil/student, rely
on ad-hoc data collected from students (Jones et al., 2009; Ruleman, 2012; Smith et al.,
2011). The use of ICTs (SM in this case) seems to depend on socio-demographic variables
such as gender, age and education level, each of which impacts differently in the countries
analysed. All in all, the findings indicate that, in the digital environment, cultural differences
must be taken into account in the design of subjects and teaching materials used by teachers.
With the exception of Turkey, our results confirm existing evidence in respect of gender (see
e.g., Ruleman (2012) and Muscanell and Guadagno (2012) who show that women use SM for
educational purposes much more than men). In the case of Turkey, men use SM more often
than women for two educational activities, ED3 and ED5.
Regarding the influence of generational differences (age groups), the research
evidence is rather scarce. Ruleman (2012) used the example of Facebook to show that
younger American students used more SM while studying than did their older colleagues. Our
results add to the existing evidence by showing that in Turkey and China there is a significant
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
188
relationship between age and the use of SM for educational purposes for respondents within
the 21-30 age group. The results show that SM should mainly be used as communication tools
for educational purposes by university teachers (not teachers in primary or secondary
schools). Furthermore, education level seems to have the strongest impact on SM usage for
educational purposes. Existing literature shows that it is mostly undergraduate students
(bachelor level) that communicate with other students, university teachers, etc. by means of
SM tools (Duggan et al., 2015; Head, 2013; Kim et al., 2014). Our results indicate that the
strongest dependences between education level and SM use for academic purposes was
observed in Turkey and China, with the Chinese master’s students and the Turkish bachelor
students as the dominant SM users for all educational purposes. These findings could be
particularly useful for tailoring specific classes for students from these cultural environments.
From a marketing point of view, these results may be taken into account in the promotion of
education related products. Cultural differences and socio-demographic determinants of the
use of SM for educational purposes may give insight to the marketers in the promotion of
education related products such as books, language schools, degree and certificate programs.
Overall, SM appear to be useful tools in the communication between teachers and
students and this research shows the various alternatives offered by the application of the
ICTs (SM) in the educational field. These results provide a first indication about where (in
which markets) this process has already taken place and where new instruments, such as web
sites and digital applications, should be developed (e.g., China and Turkey). In the markets
where, according to our findings, SM are not used for educational purposes, digital marketers
could consider launching information campaigns to show the capabilities of SM in these
areas. Future research could expand the analysis to the use of other social media for
educational purposes, such as Facebook.
Limitations
Conducting empirical studies and using primary research methods is almost always
associated with certain limitations and their number increases when conducting international
research. The way of choosing the respondents from the researched population and the sample
size constitutes important and, at the same time, critical decisions in such studies. Due to
various aspects (most of all financial) non-random sampling was applied in this study. The
consequence of this is the lack of possibilities to apply the results to the whole of the
researched population. But, the research limitations are very often a stimulus to either
continue the study or expand it, especially in relation to international activities. Further
research could expand the utility of SM in random and bigger samples.
References
Ahmed, M. A. (2011), Social media for higher education in developing countries – An
intercultural perspective, Educating Educators with Social Media, Vol. 1, pp. 59-80.
Anderson, P. (2007), What is Web 2.0?: Ideas, technologies and implications for education,
JISC Technology & Standards Watch (February), Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-64.
Bartow, S. M. (2014), Teaching with social media: disrupting present day public education,
Educational Studies, Vol. 50, pp. 36-64.
Benson, V., Saridakis, G. and Tennakoon, H. (2015), Purpose of social networking use and
victimisation: Are there any differences between university students and those not in
HE? Computers in Human Behavior, No. 51 (Part B, October), pp. 867-872.
Blankenship, M. (2010), How social media can and should impact higher education, Hispanic
Outlook in Higher Education Magazine, 21 (November 29, 2010), pp. 11-12,
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
189
http://www.hispanicoutlook.com/mark-blankenship/?tag=01%2F03%2F2011+Issue
(10 October 2016).
Bolton, R. N., Parasuraman, A., Hoefnagels, A., Migchels, N., Kabadayi, S., Gruber, T.,
Komarova Loureiro, Y. and Solnet, D. (2013), Understanding Generation Y and their
use of social media: a review and research agenda, Journal of Service Management,
Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 245-267.
Brenner, J., and Smith, A. (2013), 72% of online adults are social networking site users, Pew
Research Center,
http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_Social_networking_sites_
update.pdf (21 November 2016).
Cassidy, E. D., Britsch, J., Griffin, G., Manolovitz, T., Shen, L. and Turney, L. (2011), Higher
education and emerging technologies: student usage, preferences and lessons for library
services, Reference & User Services Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 380-391.
Craig, C. S. and Douglas, S. P. (2005), International Marketing Research, 3rd Edition,
Chichester: John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.
Duggan, M., Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., Lenhart, A. and Madden, M. (2015), Social media
update 2014, http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/01/PI_SocialMediaUpdate20144.pdf
(10 November 2016).
Furner, C. P. and George, J. F. (2012), Cultural determinants of media choice for deception,
Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 1427-1438.
Gammon, M. A. and White, J. (2011), (Social) media literacy: challenges and opportunities
for higher education, In: C. Wankel (Ed.), Educating Educators with Social Media
(Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 1, pp. 329-345), UK: Emerald
Group Publishing Limited.
Gregory, P., Gregory, K. and Eddy, E. (2014), The instructional network: using Facebook to
enhance undergraduate mathematics instruction, Journal of Computers in Mathematics
and Science Teaching, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 5-26.
Hamade, S. N. (2013), Perception and use of social networking sites among university
students, Library Review, Vol. 62, No. 6/7, pp. 388-397.
Hamid, S., Waycott, J., Kurnia, S. and Chang, S. (2015), Understanding students' perceptions
of the benefits of online social networking use for teaching and learning, The Internet
and Higher Education, Vol. 26, pp. 1-9.
Head, A. J. (2013), Learning the ropes: how freshmen conduct course research once they
enter college, Project Information Literacy Research Report,
http://projectinfolit.org/pdfs/PIL_2013_FreshmenStudy_FullReport.pdf (10 November
2016).
Hicks, A. and Graber, A. (2010), Shifting paradigms: Teaching, learning and Web 2.0,
Reference Services Review, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 621-33.
Hung, H. T. and Yuen, S. C. Y. (2010), Educational use of social networking technology in
higher education, Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 703-714.
Hussain, I. (2012), A study to evaluate the social media trends among university students,
Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, No. 64, pp. 639-645.
Jones, S. Johnson-Yale, C., Millermaier, S. and Pérez, F. S. (2009), U.S. college students’
Internet use: race, gender and digital divides, Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, No. 14, pp. 244-264.
Junco, R., Merson, D. and Salter, D. W. (2010), The effect of gender, ethnicity, and income
on college students’ use of communication technologies, Cyberpsychology, Behavior
and Social Networking, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 619-27.
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
190
Kahn, P., Everington, L., Kelm, K., Reid, I. and Watkins, F. (2016), Understanding student
engagement in online learning environments: the role of reflexivity, Educational
Technology Research and Development, DOI 10.1007/s11423-016-9484-z.
Kaplan, A. M. and Haenlein, M. (2010), Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of social media, Business Horizons, No. 53, pp. 59-68.
Kassens-Noor, E. (2012), Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal
learning in higher education: The case of sustainable tweets, Active Learning in Higher
Education, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 9-21.
Kim, K-S., Sin, S-C.J. and Tsai, T-I. (2014), Individual differences in social media use for
information seeking, The Journal of Academic Libriarianship, No. 40, pp. 171-178.
Lin, K. Y. and Lu, H. P. (2011), Why people use social networking sites: an empirical study
integrating network externalities and motivation theory, Computers in Human Behavior,
Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 1152-1161.
Madden, M. and Zickuhr, K. (2011), 65% of online adults use social networking sites.
http://www.pewinternet.org/media/files/reports/2011/pip-sns-update-2011.pdf
(5 November 2016).
McLoughlin, C. and Lee, M. J. W. (2010), Personalized and self-regulated learning in the web
2.0 era: International exemplars of innovative pedagogy using social software,
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 28-43.
Merrill, N. (2011), Social media for social research: applications for higher education
communications, In: Wankel, C. & Wankel, L. (Eds.), Higher Education Administration
with Social Media, Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 2, pp. 25-48,
Emerald Group Publishing.
Moore, K. and McElroy, J. C. (2012), The influence of personality on Facebook usage, wall
postings, and regret, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 267-274.
Munguatosha, G. M., Muyinda, P. B. and Lubega, J. T. (2011), A social networked learning
adoption model for higher education institutions in developing countries, On the
Horizon, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 307-320.
Muscanell, N. L. and Guadagno, R. E. (2012), Make new friends or keep the old: gender and
personality differences in social networking use, Computers in Human Behavior,
No. 28, pp. 107-12.
Nadkarni, A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2012), Why do people use Facebook? Personality and
Individual Differences, 52 (3), pp. 243-249.
Nakagawa, K. and Arzubiaga, A. E. (2014), The use of social media in teaching race, Adult
Learning, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 103-110.
Ngai, E. W. T., Moon, K. K., Lam, S. S., Chin, E. S. K. and Tao, S. S. C. (2015), Social
media models, technologies, and applications, Industrial Management & Data Systems,
Vol. 115, No. 5, pp. 769-802.
Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Rowlands, I. and Jubb, M. (2011), Social media, academic
research and the role of university libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship,
Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 373-375.
Nichols, M. and Anderson, B. (2005), Strategic e-learning implementation, Journal of
Educational Technology and Society, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 1-8.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978), Psychometric Theory, 2nd Edition, New York, McGraw-Hill.
Park, J. H. (2010), Differences among university students and faculties in social networking
site perception and use: Implications for academic library services, Electronic Library,
Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 417-431.
Patino, A., Pitta, D. A. and Quinones, R. (2012), Social media’s emerging importance in
market research, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 233-237.
Prensky, M. (2001), Digital natives, digital immigrants, On the Horizon, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 1-6.
Małgorzata Bartosik-Purgat,
Nela Filimon, Meltem Kiygi Calli
ISSN 2071-789X
RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Economics & Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017
191
Ray, D. (2014), Overcoming cross-cultural barriers to knowledge management using social
media, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 45-55.
Richardson, W. (2006), Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for
Classrooms, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Ruleman, A. B. (2012), Social media at the university: a demographic comparison, New
Library World, Vol. 113, No. 7/8, pp. 316-332.
Saw, G., Abbott, W., Donaghey, J. and McDonald, C. (2013), Social media for international
students – it's not all about Facebook, Library Management, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 156-
174.
Schouten, P. (2011), Using social media in study abroad, In: Wankel, L. & Wankel, C. (Eds.),
Higher Education Administration with Social Media, Cutting-edge Technologies in
Higher Education, Vol. 2, pp. 127-145, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Selwyn, N. (2010), Looking beyond learning: Notes towards the critical study of educational
technology, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 65-73.
Sheldon, P. (2015), Understanding students’ reasons and gender differences in adding faculty
as Facebook friends, Computers in Human Behavior, No. 53, pp. 58-62.
Skiera, B., Hinz, O. and Spann, M. (2015), Social media and academic performance: does the
intensity of Facebook activity relate to good grades? Schmalenbach Business Review,
Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 54-72.
Smith, A., Rainie, L. and Zickuhr, K. (2011), College students and technology. Pew Research
Center, http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/College-students-and-technology/Report.aspx.
(9 December 2016).
Tenopir, C., Volentine, R. and King, D. W. (2013), Social media and scholarly reading,
Online Information Review, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 193-216.
Tess, P. A. (2013), The role of social media in higher education classes (real and virtual) – A
literature review, Computers in Human Behavior, No. 29, A60-A68.
Ward, R. (2006), Blogs and wikis: A personal journey, Business Information Review, Vol. 23,
No. 4, pp. 235-240.
Williams, D. L., Crittenden, V. L., Keo, T. and McCarty, P. (2012), The use of social media:
an exploratory study of uses among digital natives, Journal of Public Affairs, Vol. 12,
No. 2, pp. 127-136.
Zhang, X., Liu, L., de Pablos, P. O. and She J. (2014), The auxiliary role of information
technology in teaching: Enhancing programming course using alice, International
Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 560-565.
Zhang, Z. and Xueb, Y. (2015), An investigation of how Chinese university students use
social software for learning purposes, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences,
No. 186, pp. 70-78.
