Platforms such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu allow scholars to upload, share their work and connect with other researchers.
As an academic social network, ResearchGate connects researchers to others in their field allowing for dialogue. It also notifies you of new materials added to the network.
Here is the page for the sample article referred to in the Stakeholder Mapping section. The authors have uploaded the author-accepted manuscript, not the final publisher copy.
Readers have the option to download the PDF should they wish to do so and the article has been read nearly 3,000 times. This accelerates research impact and discussion even before the final published version is made available. ResearchGate will also suggest other similar research which may be of interest to some.
As this is a privately owned platform, users will be targeted with advertisements and it is safe to assume your data is being collected.
Although it is free, there are points to remember: