Twitter for health researchers, risks, rewards, and what comes next?

Social media, and Twitter in particular, have radically altered how scientists can interact with each other and the public. Scientists have taken to Twitter for a variety of reasons. These include teaching, post-publication peer review, professional networking, and increased visibility. Twitter is also used scientists to more widely discuss other issues that impact us all, such as sexism and career development. However, the value of being on Twitter does not come without risks. These include concerns over the appropriateness of public critique outside of traditional academic media, trolling and online abuse, organizational social media policies, and the perception that Twitter and other social media use is a waste of time. The aim of this session is to help attendees weigh the pros and cons of social media use and maximize its value to their work.

Date & Time

8th December, 14:00 - 15:00

Location

AC201, The Concourse, University of Galway

Speaker

Dr Darren Dahly is Principal Statistician of the Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility, Cork, and a Senior Lecturer in Patient-Focused Research Methods at the School of Public Health, University College Cork (UCC). In these roles, he consults and collaborates on a wide portfolio of patient-focused and public health research, including more than a dozen investigator-led clinical trials. Darren also teaches postgraduate students about clinical trial study design and analysis, reproducible research methods, and critical appraisal skills. Prior to joining UCC, he lectured in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Leeds. Darren earned a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 2008 and a Masters in International Health Science from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland in 2002.