Updates inform you about new followers, new publications of yours added by your co-authors, comments on your publications, answers to questions you asked or followed, and much more. Clicking on the update takes you directly to the new content, so you can instantly see who is interacting with your research and how.
Messages are where you can find private messages either sent to you or sent by you.
Sending a private message
There are three ways to send private messages on ResearchGate.
If you’re following the researcher you’d like to message, click on the envelope icon at the top right-hand side of the screen, then select View all. To send a private message, click on the Message button at the top right-hand side and enter the name of the researcher you'd like to contact.
You can also go to the profile page of the researcher you'd like to message and click the blue Compose message button on the right-hand side.
If you're not following the researcher you'd like to message, you can go to their profile page and click on their Info tab. In the bottom right-hand corner, you'll see a white Send message button. Click there to compose a message.
Archiving conversations
It's not currently possible to delete a private message. You can however archive them by going to your message inbox by clicking on the envelope icon at the top of any ResearchGate page. Select the message you would like to delete and click Archive conversation.
To reverse this process, filter your messages by Archived, click on the message you want to recover and click Unarchive conversation.
Requests contain all Feedback, Full-text, Author, Skills and other types of requests. These generally require some kind of answer or confirmation.
How do I respond to full-text requests?
To send a full-text that has been requested:
- Click on the speech bubble icon at the top-right of any ResearchGate page. Find the request you want to fulfill in the drop-down menu and click 'View request'. You can also click 'Decline request' if you wish to remove the request completely. If you do not see the request you want to respond to, go to your requests page at https://www.researchgate.net/requests or by clicking 'View all' at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
- On your requests page, you can manage all of your old and new requests. Click on the request you want to fulfill, and then click on the blue 'View request' button.
- A dialog box will appear with two options:
- Decline request
- Respond to...
- If you choose 'Decline request', the full-text request will disappear from your requests.
- If you choose 'Respond to...', a new box will appear. If a privately stored copy of the full-text is available on ResearchGate, you can choose the version of the stored publication you wish to upload and select 'Share this full-text'. Alternatively, there is an option to 'Share different full-text', in which case you can select a file from your computer. Once you have selected an option, the 'Upload' button will be highlighted to finish. Please note that if you decide to ‘Share publicly’, the full-text will be visible to everyone. If there is no privately stored copy of the full-text available on ResearchGate, you will see two options. Select 'I have a full-text I can share' and you will have the option to add a public full-text, or to send a full-text as a private message. If you select 'I don't have a full-text I can share', you can choose to send a message to the researcher who requested the full-text from you.
- If you choose to send the full-text to the requester only, select 'Send privately'. As above, if there is a privately stored copy of the full-text available on ResearchGate, you can choose the version of the stored publication that you wish to send. Alternatively, you can select a file from your computer. Add a message if you choose and then click 'Send'.
Please always remember to fully investigate and confirm that you have sufficient rights to publicly or privately share particular content before you do so. As we do not have any information about rights you may hold, or any license terms or other restrictions which might apply to content, we necessarily rely on you to understand your rights and act accordingly. For further information, please see our Intellectual Property Policy: https://www.researchgate.net/application.IntellectualPropertyPolicy.html.
How do I request feedback for my publications?
To request feedback for one of your publications:
- Go to the publication you want feedback on by clicking on its title
- Click on the down arrow next to Share and select Request feedback
- Confirm by clicking on Request feedback
Why am I getting feedback requests?
Feedback requests come from other researchers in your network who request feedback for their publications. These are sent to all researchers in their network.
How do I respond to a feedback request?
To respond to a feedback request, select View request. You'll see a message from the researcher who has requested feedback and the publication they would like feedback on. Select I'd like to help and you'll be directed to the comments section where you can add your feedback.
How do I decline a feedback request?
To decline a feedback request:
- Go to your requests by clicking on the speech bubble icon, and then click View all
- Select Decline Request
- A pop up will appear where you can choose the reason you are declining to give feedback and select Submit
- Alternatively, you can simply select Decline without reason.