1173 Copyright © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 53 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8619-9.ch053 Increasing Research Students’ Engagement through Virtual Communities ABSTRACT This chapter describes important issues regarding research students’ participation in a virtual com- munity. Within a virtual community, university staf can communicate with research students without geographical/space constraints, and research students can exchange views, materials, and experience with their peers and/or academics in a fexible learning environment. Students’ participation in virtual communities is mainly based on socio-emotional and informational motivations. Initially, this chapter describes the conditions of research in a traditional environment and the role of students and academics in it, along with the role of pedagogical and psychological aspects in virtual communities. Examples from a university virtual community developed in a Virtual Learning Environment and a Facebook™ closed group are presented. Apart from discussion forums, blended learning activities also increase students’ engagement in virtual communities. Technical issues and difculties based on diferent learning environ- ments and university members’ experience and familiarity with technology are highlighted and discussed. INTRODUCTION The word research can take on a variety of differ- ent meanings. For many students and academic staff, the term can have different implications depending on their research discipline. The term research evokes a number of connotations: the reading and gathering of information from books, journals, or other printed resources; the undertak- ing of experiments in a laboratory environment; and the analysis, collection and interpretation of data. Research encompasses all of the above Maria Limniou University of Liverpool, UK Clare Holdcroft Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Paul S. Holmes Manchester Metropolitan University, UK