Tecnologias digitais e comunicação: a colaboração científica na rede social virtual Research Gate

Abstract

The use of the Internet has expanded the communication skills of people, generated networking contributes to what came to be called the information society, where everyone is constantly connected, connecting the actors in a huge communication network. Sought to examine how are the relationships and interactions in virtual social network Reseachgate demonstrating through action if the social network established for the promotion of scientific collaboration. Sets as objectives to characterize the relationship of the members of the Institute of Computing department (ICOMP) in the virtual community of the Federal University of Amazonas formed on the social network ReseachGate; categorize the scientific production and positioning of these researchers within the network and to investigate whether there through interaction, there is consolidation of scientific collaboration. It adopts main theoretical supports the concepts of Recuero (2009), Wasserman and Faust (1994), Murphy (2004) and Bardin (2006). The methodology is qualitative and quantitative, based on social network analysis with treatment of metrics analysis by Gephi system and content analysis. As a result of the study was determined that the social network ReseachGate, there is already a network of collaboration, initially formed by contact among researchers within the ICOMP department and the virtual interaction process between the actors, expands establishing a new network scientific collaboration that goes beyond the physical limit and enables the development of projects with researchers from other higher education institutions.