This study looks closely at the incidence, extent and kind of use of the major academic social networking sites Academia.Edu and ResearchGate by higher education faculty in the USA.  The report presents data for each service individually, with distinct data sets for the percentage of faculty using a particular service, the extent of their use, and their evaluation of the usefulness of the service to the individual scholar.  The study helps its readers to answer questions such as: what type of faculty value ResearchGate or Academia.Edu the most?  How much time do faculty in the sciences spend each month on these sites compared to faculty in the humanities? Visual arts? Social sciences? Business?  How does usage and valuation breakdown by age, gender, work title, or race/ethnicity of the faculty member?

Data in the report is based on a survey of 731 higher education faculty, randomly chosen from a representative universe of more than 500 colleges and universities in the USA; surveying was conducted in April, May & early June 2023. Data in the report is broken down by a wide range of institutional and personal variables enabling the study's users to pinpoint – by useful criteria – how these sites are being used and by whom.