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[10293847]

OK, so I googled a candidate because I couldn't find the person on the web site of the institution where the candidate claimed to work. I came across www.academia.edu as a top result, where the candidate was listed as a faculty member in the particular department. After more digging, I found out the person was there as an adjunct a year back, but no more, so there are a couple issues with honesty here.

I then went to my own department and found people listed there who also have not been working at my institution for a few semesters.

I know the source is not credible, but is there any fact checking going on at that web site? I am not listed there so I have no experience with it.

[corvus_caurinus]

OK, so I googled a candidate because I couldn't find the person on the web site of the institution where the candidate claimed to work. I came across www.academia.edu as a top result, where the candidate was listed as a faculty member in the particular department. After more digging, I found out the person was there as an adjunct a year back, but no more, so there are a couple issues with honesty here.

Hold on. You're holding the person in question responsible for the fact that some facebook-for-researchers wannabe website has unreliable data?

[katttt]

I think 10293847 is saying that the candidate said/implied that s/he was full-time & currently employed at the institute, where in fact s/he was an adjunct & no longer working there.

[walkingtree]

Perhaps the said person forgot to delete his/her account? A few of my friends graduated last year, but their names are still listed as current students of their alma mater. Do they also have issues with honesty? Probably neglected to update their statuses.

[corvus_caurinus]

I think 10293847 is saying that the candidate said/implied that s/he was full-time & currently employed at the institute, where in fact s/he was an adjunct & no longer working there.

Agreed. It seems like I get a D- for reading comprehension this go-around.

[cayenne]

Up until recently, the site did not allow you to delete your account or change your affiliation. There are, as you might expect, a large number of outdated profiles.

[katttt]

Again, notice the the OP said that the candidate actively claimed to work at said institution. It isn't that the OP went hunting around the web and is holding passively outdated information against the candidate.

[icicles]

OK, so I googled a candidate because I couldn't find the person on the web site of the institution where the candidate claimed to work. I came across www.academia.edu as a top result, where the candidate was listed as a faculty member in the particular department. After more digging, I found out the person was there as an adjunct a year back, but no more, so there are a couple issues with honesty here.

From my perspective, it's possible that department websites can be flawed as well. I think that's why it's important to ask for a reference (even a dept chair to verify affiliation) at the current listed university, rather than do all of this digging around. I started teaching here this semester and I'm not on the website yet. I don't think their site was updated in the fall, even, and the schedule of classes with my name on it requires a password to access. But my chair and program director know who I am and what I am teaching, even if a lot of other people don't yet.

I think of Academia.edu as a similar site to facebook and would not weigh it in any decisions unless the candidate was behaving inappropriately on the site in a public way.

[sciencephd]

Noam Chomsky is on there so they must be expert fact checkers.

More interesting is how they managed to get a .edu address.

[ann05]

I highly doubt I am on the departmental website, as I am non-Tenure Track. So if you checked to verify, you might think I was lying. Luckily I have a recommendation letter from my chair, who is awesome, and who would tell you website bedamned, I work there.

[katttt]

If you really think the candidate is lying about working at the school, you might want to just call up the department and ask for the person's office # and office hours... That should give you a better idea if the person is there. You could even ask, "Oh, is Professor X an adjunct?" without letting on that you're doing an employment check.

Another thought, you might want to check the school's faculty directory--those are usually better kept up-to-date than departmental faculty lists.

[csguy]

Noam Chomsky is on there so they must be expert fact checkers.

More interesting is how they managed to get a .edu address.

.edu addresses are no longer limited to education.

[katttt]

Noam Chomsky is on there so they must be expert fact checkers.

More interesting is how they managed to get a .edu address.

.edu addresses are no longer limited to education.

Are you sure? My understanding is that it is limited to educational institutes, but it used to be open, and that sites like academic.edu (which were established before the restriction started) are grandfathered in.

[tinyzombie]

Noam Chomsky is on there so they must be expert fact checkers.

More interesting is how they managed to get a .edu address.

.edu addresses are no longer limited to education.

How do you figure? Are you referring to cases like the not actually eligible groups that were grandfathered in, from the FAQ here?

(I'm not being argumentative; I'm genuinely curious.)

Here's what I found: "Eligibility for a .edu domain name is limited to U.S. postsecondary institutions that are institutionally accredited, i.e., the entire institution and not just particular programs, by agencies on the U.S. Department of Education’s list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies." (Source: http://net.educause.edu/edudomain/show_faq.asp?code=EDUELIGIBILITY)

[sunny_side_up]

My department's website is about 3 years behind. So, the last 6 or so hires are not on it and some people on it have passed away by now.

Generally, if a candidate has a presence on academia.edu, would you see that as positive, negative, don't care? Does it smack of desperation or no-clue-ism like being listed in "Who is who in Academia"?