Which site is better for sharing the research: Comparing Academia.edu vs Researchgate.net

Hello Everyone,

I am a young researcher and like everyone else, I am also interested in making my research more visible and connecting with other fellow researchers. The two major social networking sites for sharing academic research are academia.edu and researchgate.net. It will be interesting to find out which site is better for sharing research papers. I did join these two networking sites and uploaded my papers and analyze theses two sites for around 20-30 days. The papers which were uploaded are almost the same. I give them points for certain important services such as making profiles, simplicity and easy handling of the sites, help section, sharing and tagging papers, visibility of the research, connecting with peers, interaction process, credibility of the provided research papers

1. Joining and making profile

Both are sites are quite similar with joining these sites. Acedmia.edu providing logging in with google and facebook account on the other hand Researchgate provide login with  facebook and linkedin account.  Almost everyone had google account so I thing academia wins one point here. Making profile is almost same in both the sites, so both sites win one point each. So Academia.edu-2, Researchgate.net-1

2. Simplicity and easy handling of the sites, help section

Both the site are very easy and simple, the researchgate provide more option to  strengthen ur profile and wins one point here. Help section of academia is better than researchgate, one point for academia. So in this section Academia.edu-1, Researchgate.net-1

3. Sharing and tagging papers

Uploading papers and tagging is very much same in both sites. Researchgate automatically recognize your published papers, one points for research gate. Tagging is almost the similar in both sites.  Researchgate also generates DOI for unpublished work and hence win one points here. So in this section  Academia.edu-1, Researchgate.net-3

4. Visibility of the research

I must say visibility of your research work is quite similar but on academia my papers receive much more view around the globe so academia wins here. I found searching and reading papers is much more easy on academia. So in this section Academia.edu-2, Researchgate.net-1

5. Connecting and interaction with peers

Hands down researchgate clearly the winner. The discussion forum and other activity make researchgate much more interactive for making new friend and enhancing your knowledge. So in this section Academia.edu-0, Researchgate.net-2

6. Credibility of the provided research papers

Both are quite credible source but the automatic recognition and DOI generation make research gate winner here. So in this section Academia.edu-1, Researchgate.net-2

Overall, The winner is Researchgate.net

Academia.edu-7,

Researchgate.net-10

Conclusion

Both the sites are no doubt quite good. You can find some very interesting information and researches on these sites.  If you are a young researcher and want a more interactive participation, Researchgate.net is the choice for you. The interactive platform provided for solving your research problems is very good. Although, If you are happy that your papers are viewed by wider audience and not bother with more interaction and complexity, the academia.edu is the choice. However, these are only my opinions; you all can try and tell me how you find my comparison.

see my extended review