Explore the vast range of titles available.

Academic social networks and social media have revolutionised the way individuals gather information and express themselves, particularly in academia, science, and research. Through the lens of academics, this study aims to investigate the epistemological and psychosocial aspects of these knowledge sources. The epistemological attitude model presented a framework to delve into and reflect upon the existence of knowledge sources, comprising subjective, interactional, and knowledge dimensions. One hundred and twenty-six university academics participated in this study, including lecturers and researchers from different higher education institutions in Latvia. The study employed two methods: the Epistemological Attitudes towards Sources of Knowledge Questionnaire and the Epistemological Attitudes towards Sources of Knowledge Semantic Questionnaire. The data analysis involved several procedures, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and test statistics. By implementing these methods, the study gained valuable insights into the sources of knowledge, examining them from two perspectives. The first perspective brought attention to the differences in academics’ appraisals by discussing their understanding, approach, use, and valuations of these sources. By scrutinising the constructs of meanings, the second perspective sheds light on the anticipated knowledge which is deemed ideal, the concrete knowledge that is both social and objective, and the subjectively valuable nature of academic social networks and social media. The findings underscore the specialised knowledge and qualities that academics rely on for producing knowledge. In terms of epistemology, methodology, social science, and education, the study holds theoretical and practical implications, especially in comprehending knowledge and its sources.

The article examines two important sources of knowledge: scientific journal articles (SJAs) and university lecturers. No doubt, these are major sources in science and education, with academia playing a key role in forming their content and directing their application. Academic circles not only produce scientific knowledge but also translate its value to society, determining the image of scientific sources. In this context, knowledge sources are viewed as constructs shaped by structures of epistemological and sociopsychological categories present in social consciousness. This understanding is suggested by the concept of epistemological attitude. Using this model, the article analyzes these sources and their content through the lens of cognition, employing a model-based method to explore how scholars perceive, approach, use, and value them. Two instruments aligned with this method: the Epistemological Attitude Toward Sources of Knowledge Questionnaire and the Semantic Questionnaire, which were administered to 126 scholars, including lecturers and researchers from various universities in Latvia. The statistical analysis of the empirical data, including test statistics and correlation analysis, along with qualitative interpretations, reveals the value of knowledge from SJAs and the knowledge provided by university lecturers. The results also model the semantic constructs of both sources, considering their epistemological and sociopsychological meanings, which are shared by the academic community and conveyed to society. The research findings enhance the field of knowledge research, particularly in understanding the desired and actual quality of knowledge. Additionally, the theoretical framework can stimulate productive discussions about investigating knowledge-related objects and topics.

The role of knowledge and its sources in the academic field is central to cognition and action. The present research provides a theoretical and methodological viewpoint on evaluating sources of knowledge. This article presents a novel model and method for studying the epistemological attitudes (EAs) of academics toward sources of knowledge. The EA is an epistemological phenomenon and mechanism presenting the cognition of knowledge sources as a process occurring in epistemological, contextual, and subjective realms. Adhering to the model, the EA incorporates four concepts that embody the epistemological strategy and epistemological approach for knowledge acquisition, the context of relevant usage, the motivation for utilizing the source, and the inherent personal value acquired. Based on the model, a new method has been developed to study the sources of knowledge used by academics and represent their constructs. The development process consisted of three stages: formal, substantive, and procedural. In the formal and substantive stages, the content and methodology were developed, and in the procedural stage, the appropriateness of the content was assessed by adapting the expert review approach. A panel of seven experts comprising university academics and subject-matter experts in philosophy, methodology, education research, and psychology participated in the expert review study. The results present the experts’ analysis of the method regarding the content validity index (CVI). A questionnaire that explores academics’ EAs toward various sources of knowledge has been developed. The method reflects how well knowledge sources transfer objective and meta-knowledge dimensions. These help determine essential sources for education, research, and science.