The educational use of Social Networks Sites: a comparative analysis between the Spanish and English production

Abstract

Considering the increasing importance and presence of the Social Networks Sites (SNSs) in educational scenarios, this work is aimed at exploring the scientific literature on the educational use of SNSs. Through a bibliometric analysis of 191 journal articles written in English and Spanish, found in 6 different databases (ERIC, Scopus, DOAJ, EBSCO, ISOC, REDIB, and PsycARTICLES), the following variables were analysed: database, academic journal, authorship (including number of authors, country, and institution), year of publication, Social Network Site involved, level of education, study population, and nature of the study. Results showed the existence of a greater number of publications written in Spanish than in English, just as a higher interest in the topic from Spanish authors, academic journals, and institutions. Facebook and Twitter were the most popular SNSs in both English and Spanish articles. Furthermore, the majority of the selected articles were focused on tertiary education and their students. With regard to the selected databases, Scopus was the one which hosted the largest amount of international literature (most of it framed by a qualitative research design). The scientific production on the pedagogical use of social media reveals a considerable and developing interest in the present topic.