Guide to Utilising ResearchGate in Academic Writing

Some social networking sites, such as ResearchGate, work on a different tangent. Social networking sites in the mainstream space have a different perspective. Like you use Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat to share your pictures or videos with your friends and communicate with them, all these social networking sites on mainstream platforms have a more informal tone when using them. It would not be false to say that social media can be a tool for university students to connect with each other. But can they actually communicate with each other for the purpose of academic writing and scholarly discussions? If not, how about a platform that allows students to share their academic purposes and discuss the same themes?

Introduction

So, how to effectively use ResearchGate? We are going to explain to you how to use this platform to its full potential. You can use this platform for your academic purposes and scholarly discussions. While it is not an exact replica of what typically the majority of students think and perceive as a social media networking platform, it can be used as an academic platform for you. You can use it to share your academic written materials, have academic discussions and scholarly conversations and many other applications. Let’s know about it in more detail.

What is ResearchGate?

ResearchGate is a social networking site for researchers and scientists to share their research, have scholarly discussions and collaborate. Academic students can use this tool to share their sample research papers or a glimpse of it. Maybe you just want to show a particular piece of information in your topic’s research; you can show it and ask anyone about it on the platform. Or you can just initiate a conversation around a particular subject on the platform with your peers. This tool serves as a social networking platform for academics to collaborate, share research papers, conduct question-and-answer sessions and have discussions.

Key Features of ResearchGate

Is ResearchGate a journal? Is it like an online library for scholars and researchers to share their work? When we talk about this platform being a digital space where students can share their academic writings and have discussions, they begin to wonder what this platform is exactly and whether it is even worth their time. This tool can be used by students to understand and complete their assignments. It can also be used to share research sources with each other or have discussions. Overall, it is a tool that you can use to bring maximum productivity in your academic pursuits, especially for assignments. Here are some of its key features and aspects:

Publication Sharing

ResearchGate is primarily used to publish your own written materials and academic papers. Any user can upload and share their research papers, posters, any kind of datasets and other scholarly materials. These documents can be further made available based on the author’s choice in the settings while uploading.

Follow to Network

Any user can connect with other researchers, peers or professionals from any form of industry. By creating such kinds of networks, a user will be updated with the latest publications and activities from all over the world, as per your preference.

Q&A and Discussion

Many times, students ask is ResearchGate legit or not, and the answer lies in this particular feature of the platform. The users can engage in discussions and ask each other questions related to any topic or interest. Participants provide their own inputs and aid in knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Metrics and Analytics

Like any other social media platform, this ‘scholarly’ social networking platform also has a feature of getting records of how your publication performed. You can check metrics such as how many citations you have received, how many readers interacted with your publication, and if the download option was available then how many downloads were there for the document.

Join or Create Groups

ResearchGate is a community platform for researchers and scientists, and even anyone from any discipline can connect with each other. Any user can either join a specific group related to their research or discipline or create their own group. These kinds of groups provide a shared space for conversations and even resources.

Job Postings and Other Opportunities

While it is not the core feature of this social networking platform, users can find job postings and other opportunities. There are occasionally made features such as job postings, conference announcements and funding opportunities. These are displayed in your feed matching with your related interests and specific discipline.

Benefits of Using ResearchGate

When it comes to knowing how to effectively use ResearchGate for your academic purposes, there are certain considerations. Any student from any background and having any particular academic discipline can make use of this social networking platform for his or her academic purposes and writing assignments. Here are some benefits of using this social networking platform that will help you find aid for your academic pursuits:

1. Finding Relevant Academic/Research Papers

Use this platform to find relevant academic papers, articles, and other documents, as well as information related to your assignments. Make good use of available features such as filters such as publication type, publication date, and keywords to refine your search.

2. Networking and Collaboration With Others

Research journal articles for your assignment by finding different articles, papers, and other relevant documents to aid in your research. Follow professionals from related disciplines, professors, researchers and your peers to stay updated on the latest research activities. You can also participate in groups or forums to find like-minded people and potential collaborators.

3. Uploading and Showcasing Your Information

You can leverage this platform to showcase your work and potential as an academic student to find potential collaborators. When you make a profile, remember to highlight your academic achievements, research interests and even publications if there are any. Begin to work on your own research projects and upload research papers, posters and any other documents on ResearchGate. This will allow you to receive general feedback from peers and professors.

4. Engaging in Formal Discussions and Q&A

As mentioned earlier, it is an ‘academic’ social networking platform that you can use to contribute to scholarly conversations and discussions. Join groups or create your own to discuss your topics of interest. Ask questions from peers and professors whenever you have any doubts. You can also use the Q&A feature to learn more about any particular topic related to your academic interests.

5. Keeping Track of the Impact You Are Making

Whenever the doubt arises in your mind and you ask yourself “Is ResearchGate legit?”, then look at the impact you are making with your work. The kind of publications you create and upload on the platform can always be monitored for their performance. Monitor metrics such as the number of citations, reads, and downloads for your paper. Following other peers and professors will allow you to see what kind of scholarly articles or discussions are gaining the most traction. It will also help you understand how other users’ works are cited and discussed within the academic community.

6. Coming Across Professional Opportunities

The platform also allows you to find or come across occasional job postings and other opportunities related to your discipline. When you connect with other professionals and researchers, you will be able to discover many other opportunities for your academic career and even professional development.

7. Learning About Scholarly Ethical Practices

Being a part of the ResearchGate and its community, you will understand and adhere to copyright laws and ethical guidelines. Whether you share your own academic paper or use someone else’s scholarly material on the platform, you will learn to act with integrity and establish academic integrity, which is also a core part of your university in creating assignments. Remember to properly cite the sources you found on this platform when utilising their information in your own assignment.

Brief “How To” Guides on Using ResearchGate

Take a quick look at the provided ‘ how-to’ guides on some important aspects of using this platform. Whether you want to join this platform as an academic student or more on professional terms, these pieces of information will help you in gaining credibility among your peers and potential employers. These brief guides will help you create your own account, publish your work, and check insights related to it.

How to Get Started on ResearchGate?

Before you can upload some of your research journal articles, you need to make sure that you have a verified account. Here is how you can create an account -

Go to the official website and click on the “Join for free” button to get started.

Select the option that matches your objective of joining this platform. Since you are an academic student who is going to use it for academic purposes, select the first one.

Fill in the information related to your institution and the department and click “Continue”.

Enter the personal information required to complete the process and click “Continue”.

When your name matches with other existing profiles, it will ask you to confirm whether you are any of the following authors it will show you. Just click “Skip this step” if you are making a completely new account.

In the next step, ResearchGate will request you to verify your identity as a researcher or academic. Either fill in the details and submit or provide an institutional email to gain access directly without much complication.

Once you have provided the email address, it will ask you to verify it with a link.

Visit your provided email address’s inbox and click on the “confirm account request”.

As a final step in the process, you will receive the request to provide the email addresses of your peers/acquaintances available on the platform. Enter their email addresses and click on the “Save” button.

Once you have shared the email address, your account will be created once the administrator has accepted your request for the account.

How to Submit Your Own Writing Material?

Many of the familiar students already have an account, and they ask us, “How do I submit a manuscript to ResearchGate?” Submitting your work on the platform will require you to follow the instructions as mentioned and shown below:

On the upper-right corner of the platform, find and click on the “Add New” button. Select what you want to add to your profile, and then choose the exact kind of writing. For example, if you want to publish your written article, click on the “Published research” option and select “Article” in the drop-down list.

Click on the “Select and upload a file” button and choose the article you want to upload from your local computer storage.

Once added to the uploading process, select either of the one options based on how you want to upload the file on the ResearchGate platform- privately, publicly or both. Click on the “Upload” button.

Give the file a title (the same as what it is in your document), add authors, select the date, and click on the “Upload” button.

Add details to your file, such as a short description, and provide information on whether it is peer-reviewed or not.

Select the relevant journal name from the drop-down menu, enter the specifications of your article and click on the “Add” button.

In the final step, select if your article belongs to any project on the platform by selecting the relevant one from the drop-down menu and clicking “Add to project”. Or simply click on the “Not from a project” button.

How to Check Insights of My Published Material?

A simple step is required to check the insights on your published material. Just click on the “Stats” tab, and you will be able to see the number of citations, readers, recommendations and downloads (if it was made available).

Comparison With Other Similar Social Networking Platforms

Answering “Is ResearchGate legit or not?” might be tricky for us but we can provide you with information on what other similar tools you can use based on their specifications. Take a look at the specifications of each tool:

User Base

• ResearchGate has predominantly researchers and academics
• Academia.edu have researchers, academics and students
• Google Scholar has researchers, scholars, and students
• Mendeley has researchers, academics and students

Networking

• ResearchGate allows you to connect with researchers and join groups
• Academia.edu allows you to connect with researchers
• Google Scholar allows you to connect with authors and follow citations
• Mendeley allows you to connect with researchers and join groups

Metrics

• ResearhGate shows citations, reads, and downloads
• Academia.edu shows citations and profile views
• Google Scholar shows citations and h-index
• Mendeley shows citations and readerships

Job Postings

• ResearchGate has occasional job postings
• Academia.edu has limited job postings
• Google Scholar has no job postings
• Mendeley has no job postings

Collaboration Tools

• ResearchGate provides co-authoring and collaboration features
• Academia.edu provides collaboration on papers
• Google Scholar provides limited collaboration features
• Mendeley provides co-authoring and group sharing

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can people see if you look them up on ResearchGate?

When you enable the settings from the Privacy section for anyone reading your name when you access their paper, they will be able to see it. If an author has not enabled this setting, then they will not be able to see your name.

How do I ask questions on ResearchGate?

You can ask questions on ResearchGate by going to the Q&A overview page, clicking on the “Ask technical question” or “Start discussion”, entering your question or title of the discussion, providing any secondary information for contextual details, attaching files that support your question/discussion (such as an image or link), and clicking on the “Add” button, at the end.

Is it legal to share full text on ResearchGate?

While it is legal to share full text on ResearchGate, if your text matches the information in our copyright database, there might be restrictions on the sharing options.

Is it okay to upload a paper on ResearchGate?

Yes, the primary purpose of ResearchGate is to share your research papers while having your intellectual property within your boundaries. When you upload a document, you can choose to share it either publicly or privately, or even both.