Using ResearchGate responsibly: Another resource for building your profile as a nurse author

Early career authors need to consider a range of profile building opportunities to establish and grow their international reputation. Globally, academics and researchers face a plethora of electronic platforms that they can subscribe to free of charge. However, as with everything online, participation in these platforms and the upkeep of these sites takes considerable time and effort to maintain currency and impact. Given the constraints of daily working life, it is important to consider the benefits of engaging productively with these forums to ensure efficient time management. Strategic selection of platforms cannot only disseminate research and other career achievements, but also provide opportunities for peer recognition, networking, and future collaboration, all of which may potentially contribute to achieving career aspirations. Interestingly, some recent research suggests that communicating via these sites is becoming an accepted means of scholarly communication (Thelwall & Kousha, 2015). In this paper we present some factors that may warrant careful consideration when engaging with ResearchGate (RG) to disseminate research.