MatthewVB

I’ve recently stumbled upon a few stats that I find interested regarding my thesis I wrote in 2006, “Uncovering the social impacts of Facebook on a college campus.” I’m not trying to brag, but just excited to see my research is starting to make an impact on society and is being used beyond what I intended it for. This is very exciting in the area of social network research and the sociological and psychological implications it has. I made a few conclusions at the end of my thesis on the impacts Facebook carries, and look forward to seeing that theory expand as others add to the field.

Cited in Publications

I’ve been cited in 3 published books that I’ve been alerted from Google Book Search. They are:

• Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World (Baron, 2008)
• Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace: Theory, Research, Applications (Barak, 2008)
• New Directions in Interpersonal Communication Research (Smith, 2009)

I’m very excited about these published works and am on the look for others citing my research. I’m assuming it’s starting to make it’s way into academic journals (something I wish I would’ve written it up for) and look forward to seeing academics add to the pool of social networking research.

Thesis Viewing Statistics

I’ve also recently noticed that K-State has begun publishing the statistics at the K-State Research Exchange (K-REx). K-REx allows students and faculty to submit research publications electronically as opposed to paying for the creation of mulitple print versions, binding fees, etc. Plus — it allows everyone with Internet access to read the research posted, without needing to be a student or have special access to the library collection.

K-REx has been keeping stats (from what I can tell) since July 2008. Since then, my thesis has had over 1200 views with an average of over 150 views a month. I’ve been the number one most viewed thesis for 6 of the 8 months (most recently beat out by faculty research on “Carcass disposal: A comprehensive review.” While I don’t have research interests in this area, it makes sense as Kansas is a very agricultural-based state and K-State has devoted many departs to studies surrounding argiculture.

Conclusion

I wanted to write this because, overall, I’m just flattered. I never really saw my thesis getting such traction. I claimed it was groundbreaking when I presented it and am delighted to see that it’s holding true. This is also a time when I need to reflect on bringing my research back to the front of my life and doing some follow-up on it and the progress/changes/status of where students (and society) are with social networks. I’m curious to learn more (as evident by my continued pursuit of advanced degrees) on the topic and would be interested in seeing how to take this research beyond groundbreaking and to the next academic/sociological/psychological level.