Guest Post: Following People and Institutions on Twitter

[This post is from Caroline Cage. Caroline is a PhD candidate in development studies, and she is a monitoring and evaluation officer at INASP. Thank you, Caroline! —Barbara]

I have just submitted my PhD thesis. Twitter was a real lifeline for me throughout the research process.

I used Twitter to publicize my research. I also used it to learn about the research process, writing, and publication. And I used it as a supportive community in which to ask questions and share research.

In Twitter, I followed researchers and scholars who interested me. Following the Twitter posts of key scholars and institutions can keep you up to date on developments in your field. It can give you new insights. It also can acquaint you with interests of key people in your field.

In my field of study (development studies), I followed individuals and organizations that are relevant to my research. I found ones to consider following by

• Searching for their names
• Searching for key words associated with my field (for example, international development)
• Looking at who was followed by key academics who interested me

I then decided which ones to follow by looking at their profile summaries and reading their recent posts (or tweets) to see if they looked interesting. For me, using Twitter is an important part of using social media for research.

[Note: You can follow Caroline on Twitter @C_J_Cage. INASP can be followed @INASPinfo, and AuthorAID can be followed @AuthorAID.]