Role of Social Media in Higher Education Students

This report focuses on the use of social media by higher education students and its impact on learning. It discusses the platforms used by students and the reasons behind their choices. The report also evaluates the reliability and relevance of literature sources. It provides in-depth analysis and insights into the role of social media in the lives of higher education students.

Research Skills and Using
Information

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART B...........................................................................................................................................6
Description of the literature sources............................................................................................6
Process used to select the literature sources................................................................................7
Summary of literature and data....................................................................................................8
Evaluation of the reliability and relevance of the literature sources...........................................9
Reflection...................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Social media plays a very important role in the life of Higher education students and its
various platforms are used by them for various purposes. Research skills are basically the
abilities for finding answers to the questions or finding the solution to the problem. The skills
help in gathering the information about the topic, reviewing the information along with analysing
and interpreting the information in such a manner that helps in bringing solution to the problem.
The topic chosen i.e., “The use of social media by higher education (HE) students – which
platforms and for what purposes” is useful nowadays as most of the people and especially the HE
students are totally depended on the social networking platforms so that they can share and
complete their task also. The research on this topic was chosen as this is used by most of the
people and its demand will increase by day. So the people must be updated and upgraded
according to the situations and time.
Part A

TABLE OF
CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 Background to the problem
 Summary of the literature
 Evaluation of the reliability and
relevance of the literature
sources
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

BACKGROUNDTOTHEPROBLEM
 Social media is playing a meaningful role in the higher education
which is increasing day by day. Social media can help in enhancing
the journey of student’s learning along with making the connection
of students and educators easier.
 The use of social media is increasing nowadays because through
these platforms of social media the teachers can easily connect with
the students and also if social media is embedded in the lessons
also, then the learning can become more relatable, interesting and
engaging.

CONTINUED…
 This can be in various forms like blogs, social networking
sites, vlogs, virtual communities and even instant
messaging.
 This enhances the relationships between the students and
the teachers as the students find it easier in communicating,
accessing information and providing information as well.
 Along with learning, it also helps to create awareness and
advertise.
 The students can also be recruited through these social
media platforms which also help in providing perfect
platform for highlighting new courses, teaching staff,
research and the facilities in campus for attracting more
students.

SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE
 Earlier, social media was used more for marketing as the
universities used various platforms of social media for
recruiting budding scholars, promoting the spirit of
institutions and raising the fundraiser dollars.
 But these platforms are now more used as communication
channels. The students have started using the social media
platforms as online technologies in the learning
environments.
 This has enhanced the learning, helped in increasing the
engagement and participation of students along with
improving the content dissemination and pedagogy and
sharing of information more efficiently.

CONTINUE…
 The social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook,
Google+, Myspace, Instagram, LinkedIn and many more are
used by the higher education students.
 This was observed that 90% of the students use Facebook
for educational purposes and 31% of the students preferred
using Twitter as a communication tool.
 On one hand, these social networking sites helps the
students to make contacts with the educated people but on
the other hand this was also observed that while studying,
the higher education students make use of the social media
and get distracted which also affects their performance
greatly.

CONTINUE…
 The students can also attend various educational programs
on the Facebook like environments.
 Facebook helps the students of the colleges greatly in the
educational activities. This was also evaluated that the
students also used these platforms for the research purposes
which enhanced their knowledge and learning.
 Similar thing was observed with the use of Twitter also that
Twitter is also helping the students by becoming a tool
which facilitates the growth of the learning network which
is referred to as personal learning network.

CONTINUE…
 The main role played by the
social media is that the
students can be facilitated in
both ways either in
participating in formal
learning conditions which is
studying of the course
material or in informal

learning conditions which helps in looking for relevant
information everywhere.
 The students can also take its benefits as they can match
their capabilities and skills along with the way of thinking
with the other well known and great people which create a
sense of competitiveness and help them to increase their
abilities.
CONTINUE…
 The first year students make use to get the information of the
faculties through their seniors on the social media platforms
which makes them feel familiar to the college and the
faculties.
 This can also be elucidated that Facebook is also used by the
HE students to improve their fluency in English and their
vocabulary.
 This helped the students for enhancing their language skills
also.
 If used judiciously, social media can help the HE students
greatly whose benefits can be with them forever whereas if
not used judiciously then it can also distract the students and
destroys their academic performance.

EVALUATION OF THE RELIABILITY
AND
RELEVANCE OF THE LITERATURE
SOURCES
 The literature sources helped in knowing the role of
social media in the life of HE students.
 This also influences the performances of the students
positively. The students using Facebook judiciously got
better results as compared to when they were depended
on traditional methods of learning.

 This was argued that when the students post their
knowledge on the social media then they get accepted or
they can get rejected due to any other issues.
CONCLUSION
 The above report focussed on the use
of social media by the HE students.
 This was followed by mentioning and
describing the platforms which are
used by the students and the reason
behind choosing one over another.
 Therefore, the role of the social media
in the life of HE students was critically
evaluated in the report which helped in

gaining in-depth analysis regarding the
use of social media in the life of HE
students.
REFERENCES
 Chugh, R. and Ruhi, U., 2018. Social media
in higher education: A literature review of
Facebook. Education and Information
Technologies. 23(2). pp.605-616.
 Clark, M., Fine, M.B. and Scheuer, C.L., 2017.
Relationship quality in higher education
marketing: the role of social media
engagement. Journal of Marketing for Higher
Education. 27(1). pp.40-58.
 Greenhow, C., Galvin, S.M. and Staudt Willet,
K.B., 2019.
What should be the role of social media in
education?. Policy Insights from the

Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 6(2).
pp.178185.
 Morton, C.M., Wells, M. and Cox, T., 2019.
The implicit curriculum: Student
engagement and the role of social media.
Journal of Social Work Education, 55(1),
pp.153-159.
 Radwan, E., Radwan, A. and Radwan, W.,
2020. The role of social media in spreading
panic among primary and secondary school
students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An
online questionnaire study from the Gaza
Strip, Palestine. Heliyon. 6(12). p.e05807.

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PART B
Introduction to the topic
The section below will shed light on the use of social media by the students of Higher
Education along with mentioning the platforms used by them and the purpose of using the same.
There are various forms in which social media is used such as social networking sites, vlogs,
blogs, virtual communities and instant messaging (Bueno, 2017). The students of Higher
Education (HE) got various opportunities to communicate and interact with the renowned and
highest personalities. The objective will be enhancing the learning of students, increasing the
participation and engaging of students which will help in improving the content dissemination
along with improving the information sharing and pedagogy. The students also attend live
lectures which also provided direct and smoother communication between the teachers, parents
and students. Higher education students also gained various opportunities of e-learning and got
the trainings in different fields (Eshkulovich and Tashbaevich, 2020). The pages on various sites
like Facebook also helped the students to get the alerts and updates regarding the discussions,
meetings and project . The report will further discuss the role of social media in the life of higher
education students by making use of various literature sources.
Evaluation of the literature sources chosen for the research
There are various literature sources through which information is gained in order to
achieve the objectives or to answer certain questions. These literature sources are divided into
three major categories which includes primary, secondary or tertiary. Primary sources include
reports, emails, thesis, company reports, some government publications and the unpublished
manuscript sources. Secondary sources include the books, journals, newspapers etc. and the
tertiary sources include the databases, catalogues, encyclopaedias, indexes, dictionaries etc. In
order to conduct research about the role of social media for the Higher Education students,
various literature sources were analysed and examined. Various databases and search engines
were used to gain deeper insight about the topic. The Google scholar which is a search engine,
helps in doing the academic work. It is not compulsory that the information available on the
Google Scholar is always free but for gaining the information at an initial level, this platform
will prove to be effective in all sorts of researches. Various keywords were used to search about
the research question such as social media, higher students, role of social media and many more.
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Besides this, the research also used CORE platform which is basically the open research
aggregator which worked as a search engine and proved to be the most efficient source for the
literature review (Abbas and et.al., 2019). Furthermore, the another dedicated search engine used
was Bielefeld Academic Search Engine which is also known as BASE which helped by offering
access to more than 140 million documents which were taken from more than 6,000 sources.
This facilitated in gaining information about the topic as 60% of the documents were openly
accessible and also it gave the facility to filter the results for analysing the researches which are
available for free online (Olanrewaju and et.al., 2020). The research also used the Directory of
Open Access Journals (DOAJ) which is a database which contains the information from more
than 12,000 journals which covered many areas such as social science, humanities, technology,
science, medicine etc.
In order to gain deeper insight about the higher education students and the role of social
media for them, the E-Theses Online Service which is abbreviated as EThOS was also referred
which is basically a database which is run by the British Library (Luna and Pennock, 2018). It
contains more than 500,000 thesis among some are available for free and can be accessed
directly or through the link of the university. Various online research papers were also used and
websites related to the topic were also accessed. The inclusion criteria will be that the papers
must be in English, must be recent, peer reviewed, related to the topic, copyright protected while
the papers which does not satisfy these conditions will not be included or considered. The
research question is selected by analysing the current trend of social media in the life of higher
education students.
Systematic process behind selection of the literature sources
The research on the given topic followed a systematic process in order to ensure that the
references are reliable and reputable. The process was started by selecting the topic on which
research can be done within the given timeframe. The subject or the topic areas are decided in
order to organise the literature. Then, it is found that the topic is narrower or broader, if narrower
can limit the sources for surveying the literature. After this, the most relevant sources were
identified which included journals, books and the documents which contained the useful
information and ideas related to the topic (Ahmed and et.al., 2019). These also included thesis,
internet sites, conference papers, dissertations, industry or government reports, ePrints etc. Then
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various operators were used for searching and refining. For example, AND was used to narrow
the search and OR was used to expand the research while the NOT was used to exclude the
irrelevant information. The number of databases was also reviewed by using the same process of
searching. After going through all the literature sources, the information was analysed and it was
the time to write the literature. Various themes and sub themes were also made in order to
segregate the overall topic. This was ensured that the literature presented different solutions and
no aspect of the field and the subject area was missing. It helped in presenting the material in
efficient manner and it also portrayed according to various theories and logics. This also helped
in revealing the trend of the social media among the higher education students for academic
purposes and the debate also became raging (Chugh and Ruhi, 2018). Then the literature review
or the summary of the literature was described and organised. The credits are also given to the
information which was gathered from specific sources. It was ensured while searching the
information that the sources are copyright protected which prevents the people from distributing
and copying the work of the people without permission. Furthermore, it was also ensured that the
library or the sources from which the information was gathered keeps the private or personal
information confidential instead of leaking it. While searching for the relevant information,
censorship was also ensured which means the open access resources were less preferred so that
no one can use the same information which leads to duplication of data (Sugimoto and et.al.,
2017). Various libraries were also used for suppressing and the removing the information which
can be accessed by the public.
Summary of literature and data
As per the article ‘The effects of social media use in undergraduate students’ written by
Heffner, 2016, Today social media is used by students for various purposes (Knight-McCord and
et. al., 2016). It is used for establishing communication with lecturers, other students as well as
for increasing teacher-students and student-student interaction. In past few years’ various social
media platforms have been developed that are used by students as a communication channel for
learning. Social media has helped students in communicating with others, gather important
information as well as share it with others.It has also been summarized that there are many
different kinds of social media platforms that are used by higher education students for different
purposes (Boateng and Amankwaa, 2016). Some of the most commonly used social media
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platforms used by students are; LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many
more. All of these platforms are used by higher education students in different ways such as:
LinkedIn is used by students for professional networking in order to search for job opportunities
and for finding job vacancies in their preferred organizations. Not only this it is also used for
making contacts with educated and professional people who can provide guidance to students.
Other than this, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are used by students for
remaining in contact with their known people. Not only this, these platforms are also used for
research purpose like for collecting information about educational activities, identifying
educational programs in which students can participate as well as for getting to know change in
trend that can impact their professional life. Twitter is another kind of social media platform that
can be used for study purpose, learning something new from professionals and from other highly
educated people.
According to the views of it has been summarised that it is important for higher education
students to know purpose of different social media platforms (Cole and et. al., 2017). Proper and
appropriate use of social media platforms can help students to cope up with their high education
needs. Not only this, it further helps in facilitating positive learning environment and condition
and also increases sources though which relevant and important information can be collected by
them which is useful for them in higher education. Appropriate use of social media platforms can
help students to remain aware about relevant competition that can help them in developing
successful career. These platforms are also used by students to understand and identify skills,
knowledge, abilities that are required by students. From this summary it can be concluded that
there are various kinds of social media platforms that can be used by higher education students
for many purposes such as for collecting important and relevant information, developing
professional network, communicating with teachers and other students, and for many other
purposes.
Evaluation of the reliability and relevance of the literature sources
In order to ensure that the literature sources chosen for the research are reliable and
relevant, CRAAP test proves to be the most efficient model. It is basically set of evaluation
criteria which can be applied to the articles, websites and the other sources of information. This
helps in determining that the information gained is reliable for the particular topic chosen i.e.,
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use of social media platforms is by the higher education students. The acronym CRAAP
describes the various criteria including the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and the
Purpose. It does not only help in examining the appropriateness of the scholarly articles but also
the articles which are posted on various online sites (Portillo, Johnson and Johnson, 2020).
The literature sources were selected such that they are published not before 2016 and it also used
the recent information. All the aspects of the research are answered by using the source. These
sources also provided the new perspectives and the piece of information. The sources do not
contain much technical information instead it contained general information regarding the topic.
The publications chosen were also reputable (Berg, 2017). The information can also be found
online by looking at the sources. The sources also do not contain any false information or errors.
They also went through the peer reviews which made the information seem complete. This is
how, the factors of the CRAAP test were ensured regarding this project.
Reflection
I realized while doing the research that the social media plays the most important role in
the life of higher education students as they gain various opportunities to expand their knowledge
and broader their minds. The topic “Use of social media by students of Higher Education”is the
current topic which helped me to gain knowledge about various social media platforms and the
ways in which they are used. The literature sources chosen by me, helped in gaining in-depth
knowledge and insights regarding the topic mentioned above.The researchdone by me was not
solely depended on the online or offline articles instead it evaluated many number of sources
including various databases, search engines, books, journals, online articles, research papers,
blogs etc. I learned about various sources and also the role which is played by the social media in
the academic life of the higher education students. The research gave me various learning
opportunities which will help me in the future works. The thing which mainly worked was that I
went through various sources which broadened my mind but the thing which did not work was
that the inclusion criteria were not strictly followed which wasted a lot of time. So, in the future
works, I will consider the inclusion and exclusion criteria then only I will search for the literature
sources.
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CONCLUSION
The above report focussed on the use of social media by the HE students. This was followed
by mentioning and describing the platforms which are used by the students and the reason behind
choosing one over another. Therefore, the role of the social media in the life of HE students was
critically evaluated in the report which helped in gaining in-depth analysis regarding the use of
social media in the life of HE students.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abbas, J. and et.al., 2019. The impact of social media on learning behavior for sustainable
education: Evidence of students from selected universities in
Pakistan. Sustainability. 11(6). p.1683.
Ahmed, Y.A. and et.al., 2019. Social media for knowledge-sharing: A systematic literature
review. Telematics and informatics. 37. pp.72-112.
Berg, C., 2017. Teaching website evaluation: The CRAAP test and the evolution of an approach.
Boateng, R. and Amankwaa, A., 2016. The impact of social media on student academic life in
higher education. Global Journal of Human-Social Science. 16(4). pp.1-8.
Bueno, D.C., 2017. Research skills of the professorial lecturers: Input to capability
building. JPAIR Institutional Research. 9(9). pp.1-17.
Chugh, R. and Ruhi, U., 2018. Social media in higher education: A literature review of
Facebook. Education and Information Technologies. 23(2). pp.605-616.
Clark, M., Fine, M.B. and Scheuer, C.L., 2017. Relationship quality in higher education
marketing: the role of social media engagement. Journal of Marketing for Higher
Education. 27(1). pp.40-58.
Cole, D., and et. al., 2017. Using social media to support small group learning. BMC Medical
Education. 17(1). pp.1-7.
Eshkulovich, U.D. and Tashbaevich, S.K., 2020. Developing Pupils' Learning and Research
Skills on the Basis of Physical Experiments. International Journal of Psychosocial
Rehabilitation. 24(2).
Greenhow, C., Galvin, S.M. and Staudt Willet, K.B., 2019. What should be the role of social
media in education?. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 6(2).
pp.178-185.
Luna, S. and Pennock, M.J., 2018. Social media applications and emergency management: A
literature review and research agenda. International journal of disaster risk
reduction. 28. pp.565-577.
Morton, C.M., Wells, M. and Cox, T., 2019. The implicit curriculum: Student engagement and
the role of social media. Journal of Social Work Education, 55(1), pp.153-159.
Olanrewaju, A.S.T. and et.al., 2020. Social media and entrepreneurship research: A literature
review. International Journal of Information Management. 50. pp.90-110.
Portillo, I.A., Johnson, S.Y. and Johnson, C.V., 2020. Evaluating the Quality of Information
Found in the Most Common Health Websites in Google Using DISCERN and
CRAAP.Knight-McCord, J., and et. al., 2016. What social media sites do college
students use most. Journal of Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology. 2(21). pp.21-
26.
Radwan, E., Radwan, A. and Radwan, W., 2020. The role of social media in spreading panic
among primary and secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An
online questionnaire study from the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Heliyon. 6(12). p.e05807.
Sugimoto, C.R. and et.al., 2017. Scholarly use of social media and altmetrics: A review of the
literature. Journal of the Association for Information Science and technology. 68(9).
pp.2037-2062.
Online
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Heffner., T., 2016. [Online]. Available Through: <https://rdw.rowan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2440&context=etd>
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