Description
Background: Nowadays technology’s in constant evolution, specially the “Web 2.0” ones where online social networks can be found. The phenomenon known as “Medicine 2.0”, in which these technologies overlap with the field of Medicine, has yielded many benefits towards not only better general healthcare but also better scientific collaborations. Objectives: The aim was to determine the U.C.P.’s faculty online social network habits and to optimise the online collaboration within Dentistry, while making it easier to find collaborators on these networks. Material and methods: A survey was designed and administered to 58 members of the target-audience in order to study their online habits (in social networks as well as communities of practice), along with past collaborations, problem-solving measures, information searching techniques and willingness to join an I.C.S.-U.C.P. online network. The statistical analysis was mainly descriptive in nature. Results: Almost all of the 49 respondents (84% response rate) were on Facebook® (97,6% of the respondents) and used it mainly to communicate with friends (73,2%) and colleagues (65,9%). Over half the respondents (56,3%) used less than 5 weekly hours to investigate online and most of them searched scientific articles (87,8%). In 2010, they had an average of 8 collaborators per respondent whom were mostly from the same faculty department (75%) and the collaboration’s main goal was publishing a scientific article (63,6%). Almost all of them were willing to join the I.C.S.-U.C.P. network (91,8%). Conclusions: There’s an urgent need to develop U.C.P.’s Dentistry investigations as to a enhance intra and inter-university collaborations, since most of the faculty uses social networks but almost no-one uses them with an investigative purpose. Online collaborations require a user-centred approach, focusing on social connections and the Curriculum Vitae, as well as incorporating “Web 2.0” technologies whenever possible. Finally, the survey’s analysis supports the creation of the I.C.S.-U.C.P. online network in order to improve said collaborations and promote the University’s growth.| Period | Sept 2012 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Universidade Católica Portuguesa |
| Degree of Recognition | Master |
Keywords
- Social network
- Dentistry
- Collaboration
- Web 2.0