ResearchGate launches global survey of research community

Today, ResearchGate, the professional network for researchers, launched its first global research community survey. The survey: State of the Research Community, invites researchers from all over the world to share information about their experiences working in research. The goal of the survey is to raise awareness of the challenges they face, encouraging vital conversations aimed at improving researchers’ lives and increasing their impact on society. The survey was designed together with the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW).

Berlin/Hanover, 27.04.2022. The State of the Research Community survey covers the following topics: socio-demographic characteristics of scientists, their work satisfaction, assessments of academic freedom, career prospects, perceptions of regional and international networking, and statements about participation in academic discourse.

Once the survey data has been collated, it will be available to download in an anonymized format. ResearchGate hopes that publishing the dataset can play a role in facilitating changes to local and global policy that support researchers.

Tilo Mathes, Community Relations Manager at ResearchGate says: “Our vision at ResearchGate is to create a better, more productive science where every researcher is empowered to do their best work. Our members often tell us that they struggle to progress their work because of institutional or societal factors. We want to understand the factors that are blocking researchers in different parts of the world and give policy influencers the data they need to enact change. We know this is not something that can change overnight, but we hope this initiative will spark the right conversations.”

To design the survey, ResearchGate partnered with the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (Das Deutsche Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung, DZHW). DZHW carries out application-oriented empirical research in the field of higher education and the science system. It specializes in longitudinal surveys and contributes its research findings to academic discourse, supporting policy makers, higher education institutions, and educational management in shaping higher education in Germany and Europe.

Stephan Stahlschmidt, project leader of this joint project at the DZHW, comments: "Currently, we know little about the way scientists collaborate and communicate, how they think about their work, and so on. International comparative studies in this regard are few and limited to the countries of the West and North. Little is known about the countries of the Global South. As ResearchGate is used by users in over 190 countries, we hope that together we will gain more insights and look forward to working with ResearchGate."

The survey is open to all researchers (a ResearchGate account is not required). It will run until June 2022. More information and the survey link can be found here:

https://www.researchgate.net/blog/state-of-the-research-community-survey

About ResearchGate

ResearchGate is the professional network for researchers. Over 20 million researchers use researchgate.net to share and discover research, build their networks, and advance their careers. Based in Berlin, ResearchGate was founded in 2008. Its mission is to connect the world of science and make research open to all.

Press contact:

Eimear Bruen
press@researchgate.net

PDF of the press release