What does the partnership between Springer Nature and ResearchGate involve?
Springer Nature and ResearchGate are continuing their collaboration to pilot innovative access models for scientific content in the rapidly evolving scientific ecosystem. This continuing partnership brings together Springer Nature’s experience in publishing with ResearchGate’s capabilities in dissemination, making research even more visible and discoverable and connecting researchers. As part of the collaboration, over 50,000 Springer Nature journal articles will be made available on ResearchGate.
Will all ResearchGate users be able to access this content?
If Springer Nature has made an article available, and you are recognized by ResearchGate as having a current Springer Nature institutional subscription to this content, you will automatically have access to the full-text both on the publication page (in-line) and as a downloadable copy. If you are not recognized by ResearchGate as having a Springer Nature subscription, you will be able to access a publisher preview of the article, but there will be no option to download or read the full-text.
What is a publisher preview of an article?
Publisher previews are provided by Springer Nature to readers who do not have institutional subscriptions. They include the article's full abstract, figures, and publication information, as well as the first page of the full-text.
Which journals' content will ResearchGate users be able to access under the partnership?
ResearchGate users will be able to access research articles that were published from November 2017 onward in the following Nature journals:
- Nature
- Nature Astronomy
- Nature Biomedical Engineering
- Nature Cell Biology
- Nature Chemical Biology
- Nature Chemistry
- Nature Climate Change
- Nature Ecology & Evolution
- Nature Energy
- Nature Genetics
- Nature Geoscience
- Nature Human Behaviour
- Nature Immunology
- Nature Materials
- Nature Medicine
- Nature Methods
- Nature Microbiology
- Nature Nanotechnology
- Nature Neuroscience
- Nature Photonics
- Nature Physics
- Nature Plants
- Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
And from 11th July 2019, also articles that were published from January 2017 onward in the following Springer journals:
- Experimental Brain Research
- Annals of Operations Research
- Microchimica Acta
- Cluster Computing
- Environmental Earth Sciences
- Empirical Economics
- Higher Education
- The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
- Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Journal of Materials Science
- Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications
- Surgical Endoscopy
- Journal of Business Ethics
- Applied Physics A
- Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Social Indicators Research
- International Journal of Dynamics and Control
Users already have full access to all Springer Nature open access content, including Nature Research open access journal (Nature Communications, Communications Biology, Communications Physics, Communications Chemistry, Scientific Reports and the Nature Partner Journals).
How long will the partnership last?
The purpose of the first phase of the program, which launched on 7th March 2019, was to gather feedback from scientists and institutions to further evaluate the best approach to innovative access models going forward. After an extensive review and positive user feedback, we have expanded the partnership to continue until further notice.
What happens next?
Together, Springer Nature and ResearchGate are piloting innovative and seamless access models for all researchers. Our shared goal is to develop a model that will expand access to scientific content for authors, subscribers, and non-subscribers beyond the term of this partnership program. Should the companies decide not to continue with the access models implemented in the program, we have agreed on a solution that will not disrupt authors’ user experiences.
For authors
How does the partnership affect authors?
As an author, this partnership will help you both increase the visibility and discoverability of your work and measure the impact of your research across platforms.
If your article has been published in a selected journal, then an up-to-date version of the full-text will be made available by Springer Nature on your publication's page on ResearchGate. All of your readers with access to a Springer Nature institutional subscription will automatically have access to this Springer Nature full-text. Readers without access to an institutional subscription will be able to access a publisher preview of the article, which includes the full publication information, abstract, and figures, as well as the first page of the article.
This partnership doesn't affect any restrictions that otherwise apply to authors' ability to share their work on ResearchGate.
What if I don't want a full-text on my publication page?
A full-text added by Springer Nature is the most up-to-date published version of your article. Because it was added by Springer Nature, you are not responsible for it and therefore can't remove it.
ResearchGate and Springer Nature view the removal of barriers and the delivery of frictionless access as part of a broader goal to improve access to scientific knowledge for everyone.
What is the legal status of the Springer Nature articles?
The articles made available by Springer Nature on ResearchGate as part of the partnership program are still subject to copyright and any applicable licenses or policies. For more information, please read these Additional Terms.
ResearchGate does not have any insights about copyright agreements between authors and Springer Nature. Please direct any questions about this directly to Springer Nature at onlineservice@springernature.com