Interview with Ijad Madisch on “The Future of Publishing and Discussing Research”

Abstract

Dr. Ijad Madisch is co-founder and CEO of ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists and researchers to collaborate, share results, and speed up progress. Following his own frustrations as a researcher isolated in his lab, Ijad Madisch founded ResearchGate in 2008 together with his friends, fellow physician Soren Hofmayer and computer scientist Horst Fickenscher. ResearchGate has since grown to include more than six million scientists around the world. Ijad Madisch earned his doctorate in the field of virology, while also studying computer science on the side. He spent several years working as a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, focusing on tissue engineering and radiology. Under his leadership, ResearchGate has attracted a group of renowned investors, including Bill Gates, Benchmark and Founders Fund. BISE: Do you see professional networks like ResearchGate as an addition or, in the long run, as a replacement for traditional forms for developing, publishing, and discussing research? Madisch: Currently, it is a supplement. But we know from the past that an add-on can transform into a substitute. The journals need to show what their added value is. It used to be distribution and reputation that built up over time by quality assurance. The added-value of distribution has eroded because researchers can directly access results anytime and anywhere. Reputation is also becoming questionable because it does not relate to the research, but is instead inherited from the high impact of research previously published in that outlet. That has nothing directly to do with the publication. Regarding the third point, quality assurance, peer review has its own discussion. Researchers take over the reviewing task themselves, the publisher organizes it, and it has its advantages. Depending on the future developments of publishers’ tasks, we will see whether they remain a part of the system, or if the system eventually transforms. BISE: Now of course it is not your job to do the publishers’ homework. How do you think will their role change? Madisch: This is an extremely difficult question. I am glad that I do not have to think about it. The situation is Prof. Dr. R. Winter (&) Institute of Information Management, University of St. Gallen, Mueller-Friedberg-Strasse 8, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland e-mail: robert.winter@unisg.ch URL: http://www.iwi.unisg.ch