ResearchGate
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| URL | http://researchgate.net/ |
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| Type of site | Social network service for scientists |
| Owner | ResearchGate |
| Created by | Ijad Madisch, Sören Hofmayer, Horst Fickenscher |
| Launched | May 2008 |
ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators.[1] The site has been described as a mash-up of “Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn” that includes “profile pages, comments, groups, job listings, and ‘like’ and ‘follow’ buttons”.[1] Members are encouraged to share raw data and failed experiment results as well as successes, in order to avoid repeating their peers’ scientific research mistakes.[2]
ResearchGate members receive automatic alerts for new publications authored by their contacts, a feature it shares with other social networks for scientists such as Elsevier's BiomedExperts and Google Scholar.
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Company [edit]
ResearchGate was co-founded in 2008 by Ijad Madisch in Boston. The company is now based in Berlin[1] and has offices in Cambridge, Mass.[3]
On September 8, 2010, ResearchGate announced the completion of its Series A financing.[4] On February 22, 2012, ResearchGate announced the completion of its Series B financing.[5] Currently, ResearchGate’s board of directors consists of Benchmark Capital general partner Matt Cohler, ResearchGate co-founder Madisch, and Founders Fund partner and PayPal co-founder Luke Nosek.[6]
ResearchGate is said to be investigating ways to make money by providing job boards, conference boards for scientists and partnering with companies that manufacture and sell biotech lab equipment.[7] [8]
Criticisms [edit]
Some scientists and researchers have expressed skepticism about the need for a social networking site.[7] As quoted in Forbes, neuroscientist Bradley Voytek said “ResearchGate has its work cut out for them.”[7] In his opinion, “researchers are quite conservative when it comes to adopting new technologies because time and attention are scarce commodities.”[7] Voytek added that ResearchGate needs to “figure out how to get older, more experienced scientists to use their service. That’s a difficult task.”[7]
An experiment conducted by journalist Beatrice Lugger showed that with just a few interactions on ResearchGate, her "RG score" would grow to the top 5%, indicating that the score as of now is barely indicative of scientific impact, and that most users interact even less.[9]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Lin, Thomas (16 January 2012). "Cracking Open the Scientific Process". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ Dolan, Kerry A. "How Ijad Madisch Aims To Disrupt Science Research With A Social Network". Lists. Forbes. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Get in touch with us". Contact Page. ResearchGate. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ "ResearchGate brings in strong funding round for 'scientific Facebook'". The Guardian. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- ^ "Founders Fund invests in the Facebook for scientists: Founder Ijad Madisch on confidence, Luke Nosek, and what the world needs more of". VentureVillage. 2012-02-22.
- ^ Empson, Rip (1 March 2012). "Armed With New Funding & A Global Mission, ResearchGate Adds PayPal Co-founder To Board". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Knapp, Alex (15 March 2012). "ResearchGate Wants To Be Facebook For Scientists". Forbes. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ Levy, Ari (January 8, 2013). "ResearchGate’s 2013 Resolution: Make Money". Bloomberg.
- ^ "Ein Vergleich für Forscher unter sich: Der Researchgate Score" (in German). 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
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External links [edit]
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