Communications of the ACM
Social Media Fortifies Bond Between Scientists
ResearchGate is the creation of Ijad Madisch, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Photo courtesy of Ijad Madisch
More than 1 million users from 200 countries are using a social network for researchers called ResearchGate. Launched in 2008, the Web site is meant to serve as a way for facilitating the exchange of information among researchers, providing message boards, group following, and other tools for communicating ideas with each other.
ResearchGate is the creation of Ijad Madisch, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. "I want to provide a service for people to bridge gaps in communication and to keep people informed about what their colleagues are doing in their respective fields," Madisch says.
Similar to other social media tools, ResearchGate offers a feature that enables scientists to post their research publications on their own profiles. "This won't replace a library or scientific journal by any means, but it will allow people to really follow their peers and receive advice from them," Madisch says.
The social media site is open to researchers from all science fields, but most users work in biology, medicine, computer science, chemistry, and physics, according to Madisch.
From Technician Online
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