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Researcher Profiles: Academic Social Networks

The purpose of this guide: introducing Melbourne Polytechnic researchers to ideas and resources for creating researcher profiles

Academic Social Networks: Why use them?

Academic Social Networks are instruments that enable researchers to:  

    • Create academic profiles
    • Share research output
    • Communicate with colleagues and associates, and establish professional and researcher networks
    • Promote research and researchers beyond the customary range
    • Facilitate the calculation and distribution of research metrics

This section of the Researcher Visibility guide will introduce ResearchGate

  a social media network, designed specifically for researchers. 

Researcher Considerations

Prior to employing an Academic Social Network, it is worthwhile for the researcher to: 

  • Clarify intended outcomes - what do you want to achieve from social networking?
  • Find the right forums to communicate your message - what's out there, and how will it fit your purpose?
  • Identify key themes - which parts of your research will you amplify?
  • Consider the features of your chosen Academic Social Networking platform - ask yourself "Will it meet my needs?" 
     

Source:  Goulston, Adam   https://scize.com/social-media-for-researchers-scientists/   

Getting started with ResearchGate

Demo:  ResearchGate Basics

ResearchGate - User Resource Bank

ResearchGate Help Center
Resources for users of ResearchGate
 

ResearchGate logo creator:  Wjfuchs
Licence:  
CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Academic Social Network by ResearchGate

A social networking community for researchers   www.researchgate.net

 

An academic social network
Scope:  multidisciplinary
Used for:  sharing publications, connecting with colleagues, collaborating, Q&A, job searching

Enables researcher profiles:  Members can create a detailed profile, upload files, monitor impact

Metrics available in Research Gate:
Publication count by type (articles, conference papers etc)  
Publication views by country and by institution
Full text downloads 
Dataset downloads 
Full text requests
Google referrals (for publications)  
Open reviews
Citations and impact points  
Member profile views by country and by institution
Google referrals (for profiles)
Questions asked, questions answered

ResearchGate logo, image source and licence:   from Rejol, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons 
(Note:  Attribution of image not legally required)