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ARTICLE INFO

Perception of Graduate Students Regarding the Use of Social Networks in Education: A Qualitative Research

AUTHORS

Amin Beigzadeh 1 , shahnaz kohan 2 , Nikoo Yamani 3 , Habibolah Rezaei 4 , *

AUTHORS INFORMATION

1 PhD Candidate, Health Services Management Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, Iran

4 PhD Candidate, Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center, ‎Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, Iran

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Strides in Development of Medical Education: 13 (3); e57828
Published Online: August 31, 2016
Article Type: Research Article
Received: July 09, 2017
Accepted: December 27, 2015

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Abstract

Background & Objective: Social networks are new technologies that have emerged in the past decade and are dramatically used in various areas such as education. This new social media has changed the lifestyle of individuals and their communication. Due to this fact and the increasing trend towards using social networks in universities, the present study was conducted with the purpose to explore graduate students' perspectives regarding the use of social networks in education.

Methods: This study was conducted using qualitative content analysis method. The participants were selected using purposive sampling (n = 13). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, recorded on audiotapes, transcribed, and then, analyzed. MaxQdata software was used for data analysis.

Results: Data analysis led to the extraction of 476 codes, 59 sub-codes, 11 subcategories, and 4 main categories. The main categories included the advantages of social networks (3 subcategories), disadvantages of social networks (2 subcategories), required infrastructures for using social networks in education (3 subcategories), and the capabilities of social networks in education (3 subcategories).

Conclusion: This study revealed the advantages, disadvantages, and the applications of social networks in education. Due to the importance of social networks in education, we suggest that by providing the required infrastructures, such as high speed internet, educational protocols, and etcetera, the uses of social networks in education be improved so that students can better use these networks in education.

Keywords

Social networks Education Students Qualitative study

© 2016, Strides in Development of Medical Education. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.
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