ResearchGate automatically merges publications where all information is identical, including title, date of publication, author list, and journal. Please note that if you have added both of the publications yourself or if the publication information is not identical in every way, they will not be merged automatically. Additionally, if one of the publications has a DOI, or both publications have different DOIs, we also don't merge them automatically. 

You can edit your publication’s details by following these steps:

1. Go to the publication’s ResearchGate page by clicking on the title of the publication
2. Click on the blue arrow on the right-hand side of the page and select Edit from the drop-down list
3. Make the necessary changes
4. Click Save
5. It can take up to 72 hours for the items to merge. 

Please note: We don’t merge articles with their linked data or preprints. We encourage our members to upload their work during all stages of the publication process, so we consider these to be separate research items. Items with a ResearchGate DOI also won't be merged. 

If you have duplicates and prefer to delete one of them, simply do so by following our instructions on Removing content.

To remove a research item from the Research tab:

1. Go to your Research tab
2. Scroll down to the research item
3. Click on the arrow next to Add resources
4. Select Remove
5. Select the relevant option
6. Select your reason for removing
7. Proceed by clicking the relevant button.

Please note: If you didn't create the publication page, you will not have the option to remove it from ResearchGate entirely. You can, however, remove it from your profile.

Please note: Research items with a ResearchGate DOI attached cannot be edited. Instead, you should remove the research item completely, re-upload it with the correct details and then generate a new DOI for it. A DOI is a unique identifier - therefore any edits after its creation render the DOI invalid.

If your research item does not have a ResearchGate DOI, you can edit your publication’s details by following these steps:

1. Go to the item's ResearchGate page by clicking on the title of the research item
2. Click on the blue arrow below and to the right of the title and select Edit from the drop-down list
3. Make the necessary changes
4. Click Save.

Or:

1. Go to your Research tab and click on the arrow below and to the right of the title and select Edit from the drop-down list.
2. Make the necessary changes
3. Click Save.

Please note: Certain types of publications cannot be changed to other types, like Data, or Research. These must be removed and re-uploaded as the correct type.

To edit author names:

1. Edit the Authors field as appropriate
2. Update the author information and click Request changes or Save.

If you are the creator of the publication and the sole claimant, you can modify the authors of your publication instantly, otherwise, these changes will be reviewed manually and can take some time.

ResearchGate makes it easy for you to add all types of research and publications to your profile. Click the large blue box at the top right of any ResearchGate pageand then select the applicable publication type from the drop-down menu.

Once you’ve added your publications and research to your profile, they’ll be listed under your  Research tab.

While citations using standard citation styles are usually extracted accurately on ResearchGate, there are some instances where they cannot be extracted – for example, for full-text PDFs that have been created from scanned hard copies. PDF as a format is not particularly standard, and therefore creating algorithms to extract this information is an ongoing process, with varying levels of success. Please also note that citations that do not have complete metadata (publication date, journal, abstract) may not be included in your citation counts, as this is important information when it comes to matching citations to publications correctly. Additionally, if the citing paper is not on ResearchGate, this can also hinder our efforts to add the citation. Our citation data is regularly updated and we are working hard to improve how we extract and match citations.  

The term “plagiarism” has different meanings, but it usually includes copying somebody else’s work without permission. If you own your work and someone has copied it, or parts of it, without permission, it may be a copyright infringement. If you are the copyright owner and believe there is copyright infringement, you may report the content and request that it be removed from ResearchGate. The easiest way to do this is to complete our form and send it to copyright@researchgate.net. If your copyright interests have been assigned to a publisher, you may need to the publisher to report any infringements to us.