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

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 student's perspectives regarding the use of social networks in education.
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.
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).
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.