While I agree that it is annoying that ResearchGate sends emails to
oneâs co-authors claiming to be from you, it is not the case that there
are no redeeming features to the website. It is possible to turn off the
feature that allows it to send email without your permission (although
it should be off by default of course).
The reason I mention this is that I actually find ResearchGate to be the
only social networking site that actually is designed for researchers
rather than college students (Facebook) or business people (LinkedIn).
For example, on my page
(https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frederick_Gallun/), I was quickly
able to assemble a list of all my publications and to upload pdfs of
those that are not under copyright. The site had actually gone and found
the majority of the publications using Pubmed, and all I had to do was
approve them. It also shows the impact factor of each publication and
gives an average impact factor and the total number of âimpact pointsâ
for a given author (not that I think such things are very meaningful,
but it is somewhat amusing to think about).
Furthermore, it allows you to âfollowâ colleagues so that you will get
alerts when they publish a new article. I think that they may have
alienated too large a percentage of their target audience with their
ham-handed tactics of spamming everyoneâs co-authors. However, I do
think that something like this will be the way that we keep tabs on
activity in our field (and related fields) in the near future. I donât
have the time to search through all the journals in which my colleagues
might be publishing, and this seems like it could be a great way to know
whenever a relevant article is published by someone I am interested in
âfollowingâ. Furthermore, I think that, if properly developed, such a
site could be a very good way to allow forums like the auditory list to
be integrated into a larger framework.
Anyhow, I intend to keep interacting with such sites and providing
feedback to the developers in the hope that new and useful tools will be
created.
Erick
-------------------------------------------------------
Frederick (Erick) Gallun, PhD
Research Investigator
National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research
Portland VA Medical Center
3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Road (NCRAR)
Portland, Oregon 97239*
Tel:* 503-220-8262 x57472
Fax: 503-721-1402
http://www.ncrar.research.va.gov/AboutUs/Staff/Gallun_A.asp
This document is intended for the exclusive use of the recipient(s)
named above. It may contain sensitive information that is protected,
privileged, or confidential, and should not be disseminated,
distributed, or copied to persons not authorized to receive such
information. Unless otherwise noted, this communication represents the
views of the sender and not necessarily those of the VA or NCRAR. If
you are not the intended recipient or feel you have received this
document in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the
original.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception
> [mailto:AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al Bregman
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2012 6:02 PM
> To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Research Gate
>
> Hi John,
>
> Thanks for letting us know about Research Gate.
>
> Al
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
> Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor
> Psychology Department, McGill University
> 1205 Doctor Penfield Avenue
> Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1.
> Office: Phone: (514) three-nine-eight-6103,
> Fax: (514) three-nine-eight-4896
> http://webpages.mcgill.ca/staff/Group2/abregm1/web/
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 4:08 AM, John Culling <cullingj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:cullingj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
> wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > I thought I should alert everyone to this organisation's recruitment
> methods.
> > I received an email yesterday which appeared to be from a colleague
> > and which invited me to join Research Gate and "claim" my papers. The
> > invite included a picture of my colleague. She, however, has no
> > relationship with this organisation and made no such invitation.
> >
> > John.