Research Guides: Collaborate on Research: Overview

Find Collaborators

Sources for finding collaborative partners can be both formal and informal.

Look for those doing similar work within your institution.
Find colleagues from professional associations or conferences.
Read the scholarly literature, e.g., journals, articles, newsletters; explore databases of funded projects like the NSF; and review conference programs for your field.
Set up a digital network by connecting through academic social media sites and creating a scholarly profile for yourself.

When you have identified a possible collaborator, get an address or contact information and write to express interest.

Conferences

Conferences highlight vital new research. Find out about conferences in your area of interest.

Conference Alerts
Subscribe to alerts about conferences in your areas of interest.

Digital Networking

Many academics keep professional websites and blogs to publicize their work and continue scholarly conversations. This can be another way to connect with possible research partners; such websites can be found by searching the web for author names and their professional affiliations.

Google Scholar
Although not a social network in the traditional sense, Google Scholar has become an important tool for finding and keeping up with the latest research, promoting one’s own work, and finding fellow experts in your field. Be sure to create a Google Scholar profile.
LinkedIn
A vast professional social media site for job searching and professional networking with a wide range of users.
Academia
Share publications, network with fellow scholars, and even use their tools to build a professional website.
CONVERGE Natural Hazards Center
Advances social science, engineering, and interdisciplinary hazards and disaster research through training opportunities for researchers and coordinating research teams in major disasters.
H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online
A discussion forum for the humanities and social sciences where every aspect of academic life -- research, teaching, controversies new and old -- is open for discussion.
Mendeley
This free reference manager can also be used to connect with fellow scholars by adding them as contacts, or for looking for new academic positions.
ResearchGate
Discover research, connect with your scientific community, and measure your scholarly impact.

Digital Repositories

The places you share your articles can also be places where you’ll find collaborators.

SSRN
Formerly the Social Science Research Network, this site has specialized research networks in each of the social sciences, particularly in the fields of economics, finance, accounting, management, and law. Includes an open access collection of social science research working papers, accepted papers, published papers, and conference papers.
figshare
A web-based interface designed for academic research data management and research data dissemination.
MyScienceWork
Allows users to access and share scientific research publications and patents.
arXiv
A free distribution service and open-access archive for scholarly articles in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical engineering and systems science, and economics.
viXra
A preprint server for primarily scientific and mathematical research papers.
PLOS ONE
A peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS); covers primary research from any discipline within science and medicine.

Need more help?

Scholarship & Research Support
Provides a variety of consultation, support, and tools to help researchers. Contact us at srstudio@smu.edu.

Related Guides

Why Collaborate?

Researchers who collaborate are generally said to produce work that is more impactful in terms of reach and citation count.

Collaboration can exist on different levels, between faculty, students, and the community.