ResearchGate
Overview
ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a study by Nature and an article in Times Higher Education, it is the largest academic social network in terms of active users, although other services have more registered users and more recent data suggests that almost as many academics have Google Scholar profiles.
History
ResearchGate was founded in 2008 by the physicians Dr. Ijad Madisch and Dr. Sören Hofmayer, and computer scientist Horst Fickenscher. The company's headquarters are in Berlin, Germany. In 2013, it was reported to have 2.9 million users, and was receiving up to 1.7 million monthly visits. By 2017, ResearchGate reported having more than 12 million users.
Features
ResearchGate has been noted for its feature of allowing users to share their publications. This feature has been criticized for facilitating copyright infringement. However, it also has features for finding potential collaborators and for publicizing one's work, including a feature to upload raw data.
Criticism and Controversy
ResearchGate has been criticized for emailing unsolicited invitations to the coauthors of the papers that are being uploaded to their database. Some have also criticized it for a lack of responsiveness to copyright violation notices. In 2017, five publishers sued ResearchGate in the United States and Germany, alleging copyright infringement for making articles available for download that were not open access.
Impact
ResearchGate is widely used by academics in Europe and Asia. It has been found to be particularly popular among early-career researchers. A 2015 survey found that 88% of New Zealand academics have a ResearchGate profile and that it is the academic social network that respondents were most likely to join. A 2017 survey of academic social networking sites found that ResearchGate was the most popular among scientists, particularly those in biology, medicine, and earth sciences, and was also noted for its high level of user engagement.