ResearchGate is one of a handful of companies trying to speed up academic research on a global scale. Microsoft’s co-founder sees the attraction, according to the German edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Science has a data problem, There’s been a rash of experiments that no one can reproduce and studies that have to be retracted, But there are some nascent efforts to address this credibility crisis by changing the way the data is handled.
The money should help Berlin-based ResearchGate beef up its sales team, as it starts trying to monetize its 2.7 million-strong community of researchers. It remains unclear, though, who stumped up the cash.
Mendeley, an open collaboration platform for scientific research, has promised that it won’t become less open after being acquired by journal publisher Elsevier, but some prominent users aren’t waiting around.
The rumored takeover is now reality, at a reported price of $69 million. But, given Elsevier’s reputation and Mendeley’s open access ethos, will this deal turn out to be a harmonious success?
Details of the transaction are unclear for now, but the academic social network ResearchGate has just announced the acquisition of a fellow German operation. It remains to be seen how this will firm up its offering against key rival Mendeley.
The same disruption that is occurring in the traditional media industry is starting to affect academic publishing, with many scientists boycotting publisher Elsevier because of its control over the industry — which raises the question: why do we need expensive, paywalled academic journals at all?
