The number of scholarly blogs on the Web is increasing. In this article, a group of researchers are asked to describe the functions that their blogs serve for them as researchers. The results show that their blogging is motivated by the possibility to share knowledge, that the blog aids creativity, and that it provides a feeling of being connected in their work as researchers. The blog serves in particular as a creative catalyst in the work of researchers, where writing forms a large part, which is not as prominent as a motivation in other professional blogs. In addition, the analysis brings out the blogs' combination of functions and the possibility it offers to reach multiple audiences as a motivating factor that makes the blog different from other kinds of communication in scholarly contexts.

IntroductionThis study investigates the role of online searching in everyday life. Online searchingtypically understood as the use of general purpose search engines -has developed into a close to naturalised part of most peoples' lives and the dominant search engine Google has gained a prominent status in contemporary culture (Hillis et al., 2013). Google has turned into a commonly used verb and 'to google' is now almost synonymous with 'finding out about things'. Studies have shown how search engines in many areas are identified as the premium tool for finding information (e.g. Jamali and Asadi, 2010;Rowlands et al., 2008). Within information science, online searching has been extensively investigated within information retrieval (IR) as well as in experimental laboratory studies on search behaviour (Jansen and Rieh, 2010). However, the knowledge gained from information science has only in exceptional cases been used for enabling an understanding of the role of online searching on the web in and for everyday life (Schroeder, 2015). At the same time, studies on information seeking in everyday life have rarely considered online searching. Thus, as a discipline, information Postprint of article appearing in Journal of Documentation Vol. 73 No 2, Please cite the published version of the article.2 science needs to develop an in-depth understanding of online searching in and for everyday life.We approach online searching as an activity central to many of today's social practices.More specifically, we study how people experience and reflect on online searching -i.e.the use of general purpose search engines -in relation to different parts of their lives and which pivotal issues emerge as shaping the understanding and meaning of search and search engines in contemporary culture. The aim of the study is thus to elucidate how meaning is assigned to online searching by viewing it as a mundane, yet often invisible, activity of everyday life and an integrated part of various social practices. We have carried out 21 focus groups with 127 people in order for them to discuss and reflect on a subject that is often not thought of and even less often communicated in research.When studying peoples' information seeking the dominant theoretical lenses have been person-in-situation theory and task theory (Talja and Nyce, 2015). In either case, the starting point is a cognitive problem that demands information as well as information processing in order to be solved (e.g. Johnson et al., 2015). In contrast, here, we start from an understanding of information searching as entangled across practices and material arrangements (Orlikowski and Scott, 2008;Orlikowski, 2007) Taraborelli (2008, p. 196) distinguishes between evaluative judgements (content) and predictive judgements of reliability, i.e. judgement made "prior to its actual inspection", and claims that the latter is important when understanding how we trust web information. Hargittai et al. (2010) show that young adults, rather than evaluating a content's credibility, tend to rely...

The study is a scoping review of 80 research articles in LIS and related fields (2004-2014) on the use of social network sites by researchers. The results show that social network sites are used as part of scholarly life, yet with disciplinary differences. It is also shown that the area lacks methodological, theoretical and empirical coherence and theoretical stringency. The most salient strands of research (General uptake, Outreach, Special tools/cases, Assessing impact, Practices/new modes of communication) are mapped and ways to improve research in the field are identified. This provides a first step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the roles of social network sites in scholarship.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand what role researchers assign to online representations on the new digital communication sites that have emerged, such as Academia, ResearchGate or Mendeley. How are researchers’ online presentations created, managed, accessed and, more generally, viewed by academic researchers themselves? And how are expectations of the academic reward system navigated and re-shaped in response to the possibilities afforded by social media and other digital tools? Design/methodology/approach Focus groups have been used for empirical investigation to learn about the role online representation is assigned by the concerned researchers. Findings The study shows that traditional scholarly communication documents are what also scaffolds trust and builds reputation in the new setting. In this sense, the new social network sites reinforce rather than challenge the importance of formal publications. Originality/value An understanding of the different ways in which researchers fathom the complex connection between reputation and trust in relation to online visibility as a measure of, or at least an attempt at, publicity (either within academia or outside it) is essential. This paper emphasizes the need to tell different stories by exploring how researchers understand their own practices and reasons for them.

The quest for open research data is the driving force behind the development of the whole area of research data management practices. We, as a university library, offer and develop support to researchers and doctoral students. Based on the result of a web survey submitted to all researchers at Malmö University, and the knowledge that doctoral students are on their way of forming their individual research practices, we have made doctoral students our first target group for specific seminars and workshops promoting conscious research data management practices. We will organise these seminars and workshops, which both take into account the general aspects of research data management and the discipline specific practices, so as to develop integrated research data management support in close relation to doctoral students' research practices.