In addition to helping you comply with Trinity's open access policy and archiving your scholarship, the library can help you build a university-branded online profile that showcases your expertise, background, and accomplishments.
ResearchGate and Academia.edu are primarily academic social networking platforms. They are commercial sites whose aim is to connect researchers with common interests, much like LinkedIn. The Digital Commons is a library maintained institutional repository whose aim is to provide access, long-term preservation, and a central point for Trinity scholarship and creative works.
Both academic social networking sites and institutional repositories have their place in scholarly communication. They serve different purposes and you should carefully evaluate the differences between networking sites and the Digital Commons.
Recommendation: Submit your full-text document to the Digital Commons and link to it from a social networking site. This will ensure a stable link and best preservation practices for your scholarship.
Below is a list of differences between academic social networking sites and the Digital Commons:
| Digital Commons | Academia.edu | ResearchGate | |
| Long-term preservation | Yes | No | No |
| Faculty profiles are curated under the umbrella of Trinity University | Yes | No | No |
| Provides detailed analytic reports of downloads and impact | Yes | No | No |
| Wants your address book | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fulfills requirements funder policies | Yes | No | No |
| Fulfills requirements of Trinity Open Access Policy | Yes | No | No |