ResearchGate is a free peer network that's popular among many researchers, particularly those in the sciences. Creating a profile in ResearchGate can be a great way to see what other colleagues are publishing, join in academic conversations, and also a great way to collect some personal metrics.
Home Page
Once you've signed up for an account, you can add information and publications to your profile, follow friends and colleagues, see the latest developments with questions, topics or researchers you follow in the Live Feed, or ask questions of the ResearchGate community. These options are all available from the home page, as seen below.
Q&A
The Q&A section of ResearchGate is a place where researchers can ask questions and contribute to the discussion of answers. Questions can be followed up stay updated with the conversation, as shown below.
Metrics
ResearchGate provides statistics such as views and downloads, but also creates an "RG Score" which is a measure of the researcher's overall level of activity and engagement within ResearchGate. These metrics can be seen below.
