Ein internationales Team junger Forscher hat mit researchgate.net eine Internetplattform entwickelt, die der gesamten Wissenschaftswelt eine neue Form des Networking und moderner Echtzeitkommunikation ermöglicht. Mit einem vielfältigen und stetig wachsenden Angebot spezifischer Anwendungen liefert ResearchGATE einen wertvollen Beitrag für mehr Interdisziplinarität und Kooperation in der Forschungswelt.

"It is obvious that anything a scientist discovers or invents is based on previous discoveries and inventions." (Lukas Foss).

Every scientist, from a college student co-authoring his first research paper, a busy post-doc at a research institute or a strategy-thinking professional group leader, knows that success in research is heavily based on the interaction with coworkers and fellow scientists. This interaction happens visibly or invisibly in our daily lives as a researcher: Let it be the chat in the library, the excited phone call to an author of a new paper or the emotional discussion at a convention reception. More formal ways are the search for latest research papers, talks or patents. Everybody develops his or her own habits in interacting with other researchers.

Furthermore, we also experienced that research collaboration, the exchange of some promising idea or a cooperative grant application works best if the co-researcher is a trusted and known person. In the best case he is a good friend.

"[..] Social scientists have long recognized the importance of boundary-spanning individuals in diffusing knowledge (Allen 1977; Tushman, 1977), and recently, several papers have rigorously demonstrated that technological knowledge diffuses primarily through social relations not through publications "[..] *
Sorenson, Olav and Singh, Jasjit, "Science, Social Networks and Spillovers" (December 26, 2006)

ResearchGATE gives you the possibility to support this interaction with other researchers.

In the form of a dedicated web 2.0 application, ResearchGATE offers tools that are tailored to the needs of researchers. Whether you are working with a co-researcher on a project from different countries or continents or you would like to find a forum to discuss your research ideas and results, ResearchGATE lets you stay in touch with researchers all over the world. You can find new research contacts of people performing in the same field or in different fields using the same techniques as you do. ResearchGATE offers a web interface where researchers can maintain contacts, share their experiences, and connects researchers and information into one cohesive network.