Use of social networking sites by research scholars of the University of Delhi: A study Margam Madhusudhan* Department of Library & Information Science, II Floor, Tutorial Building, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India KEYWORDS Social network sites; Facebook; Privacy; Cyber-bullying Abstract The main purpose of the paper is to explore how research scholars of University of Delhi integrated Social Networking Sites (SNSs) into their daily communication for research work. A structured questionnaire was designed and personally distributed 160 respondents. Most used SNSs for “lurking” while few used such sites for promoting one’s research. Addition- ally, most respondents preferred the SNS Facebook and ResearchGate for academic purposes. Collaborative and peer-to-peer learning were common benefits from SNSs while some ex- pressed concern regarding cyber-bullying and privacy. Finally, a majority of respondents said using SNSs may be a waste of time. ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Generations today are experiencing a new wave of inter- personal communication such that “the use of social networking tools and practices have had considerable impact on scholarly communication at colleges and universities” (Penzhorn, 2009). With the rise of online communities, communication has shifted away from face- to-face models of interaction to a more digital approach for maintaining and establishing relationships (Moorman & Bowker, 2011). Social networking sites (hereafter SNSs) are leading the current stream (Park, 2010). These SNSs are helping students evolve with the current trends in tech- nology and the changing face of the world of communication. SNSs are profile-based websites that allow users to maintain social relationships by viewing, visiting, and sharing their lists of social connections with other members (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). University of Delhi University of Delhi, popularly known as DU, was established in 1922 (About University of Delhi, 2011). It is one of the premier universities in India and is known for its high standards in teaching and research. With its global ranking under 398 (QS World University Rankings 2011/12) and its Asian ranking under 77 (QS Asian University Rankings, 2011), DU marks its presence in the second most populous country of the world, India, as one of the top universities. Over the last eight decades, DU has grown into one of the largest universities in India and in the world. At present, there are 16 faculties, 86 academic departments, 77 colleges, recognized institutes and two campuses spread all over the capital city of India, with around 150,000 regular students * Tel.: þ91 11 27667807 (R), þ91 9911817540 (M); fax: þ91 27666656 (O). E-mail addresses: mmadhu@libinfosci.du.ac.in , madhumargam@gmail.com. 1057-2317/$ - see front matter ª 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2012.04.006 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/iilr The International Information & Library Review (2012) 44, 100e113