Online networks – like (opens in a new window)ResearchGate and (opens in a new window)Academia.edu, and of course LinkedIn – can be powerful tools for building your research profile, reaching a wider audience, opening opportunities for collaboration, and helping your research to get noticed.
Typically, ResearchGate tends to be used more by those in STEM disciplines and Academia.edu more by those in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Both networks allow you to create a profile, list your publications, and connect with other researchers that you find relevant.
Commercial scholarly networks like ResearchGate are not the same as an open access repository, such as (opens in a new window)Research Repository UCD. Posting the full text of your published work on these commercial networking sites may be in breach of some publishers' copyright and licensing agreements, so be sure to confirm what is permitted before you share your work.
Other networks you can explore include:
- (opens in a new window)Google Scholar Citations allows you as a researcher to create your own Google Scholar profile to increase your visibility and track your publications’ citations. You can also make your profile public, so that it appears at the top of the Google Scholar results page when people search for your name.
- (opens in a new window)Humanities Commons is a project of the office of scholarly communication at the Modern Language Association, and is a non-profit network where humanities scholars can create a professional profile, discuss common interests, develop new publications, and share their work.
- (opens in a new window)ScienceOpen is a professional networking platform for you to enhance your research in the open, make an impact, and receive credit for it.
- (opens in a new window)Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a website for disseminating scholarly research in the social sciences and humanities. Some publications are free of charge, while others are available for a fee.
- (opens in a new window)Mendeley is another free application for managing references. It is very popular with LaTeX users, and it enables collaboration in public or private groups. Unless set to private, a Mendeley library can be seen by other users. Therefore, the service is also a discovering tool that allows users to upload personal profiles, publication list, and so on.
As you can see, different networks have different features, and some are tailored to specific research areas, so explore the various options and pick the right network for your research and discipline. It's worth noting that networking sites are commercial organisations who may re-use or sell your data for profit, so always ensure you understand and are comfortable with their terms and conditions before signing up.
Lib Guide! See (opens in a new window)UCD Library's guidance on using networks and profiles to promote your research.