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In 2014, Nature published a news feature analyzing how scientists use ResearchGate and related platforms: "Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network."

In 2017, Hamid R. Jamali published an article in Scientometrics that indicated many (up to 51%) of the articles on ResearchGate are not copyright compliant (which means they may be subject to publisher takedown notices). See the Legal Considerations tab for more information about copyright-compliant sharing.

ResearchGate has the largest number of active users of any scholarly social network.  It can be a useful platform to connect with peers and increase visibility.  It's not a good solution for long term preservation, since it is a privately-held company and its standards are not transparent. University of California's Office of Scholarly Communication provides a detailed analysis of the differences between ResearchGate and an open access institutional repository. ResearchGate has been criticized for its marketing technique of sending unsolicited emails to co-authors of people who create accounts.

1. Go to ResearchGate and click "Join for Free."

2.  Answer questions about your type of research, institutional affiliation, etc. Use your oregonstate.edu email to verify that you're an academic researcher.

3. Identify the articles you have authored.

4. Verify your email address.

5. Follow people you know or who you're interested in collaborating with.