SSRN (Social Science Research Network) - Short Review

Product Overview: Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a premier online platform dedicated to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science and humanities research. Here’s an overview of what SSRN does and its key features:

Purpose and Scope

SSRN is designed to facilitate the early distribution of research results, making it a vital resource for researchers, institutions, and the broader academic community. It aims to bring “tomorrow’s research today” by providing a platform for the global dissemination of social science research.

Key Features

User Base and Content

• SSRN boasts over 2 million members and features a vast repository of research, including over 671,000 paper abstracts from more than 300,000 authors. The platform hosts 562,000 full-text papers, along with millions of references, footnotes, and citations.

Freemium Model

• SSRN operates on a freemium model, where submissions and downloads are free for users. Revenue is generated through institutional repository and conference management services, job listings, and eJournal subscriptions.

Specialized Networks

• The platform is subdivided into various disciplinary networks, such as the Financial Economics Network, Economics Research Network, Legal Scholarship Network, Management Research Network, and Accounting Research Network, among others. These networks encourage the early distribution of high-quality research papers across different social science domains.

Research Paper Series

• SSRN offers the Research Paper Series, which allows institutions to feature their sponsored research as branded eJournals. This service includes assembling and publishing the research, providing control over branding and publication frequency, and distributing the eJournal to SSRN’s user community. It also includes detailed metrics on the dissemination and impact of the research, such as downloads, citations, and social media engagement.

Accessibility and Impact

• By publishing on SSRN, researchers can enhance their online presence, build credibility, and make their research accessible to a broader audience, including prospective PhD students, business executives, and potential collaborators. The platform helps in collecting citations and tracking the impact of research even before it is published in traditional journals.

Search and Discovery

• SSRN provides advanced search capabilities, allowing users to find articles by searching through titles, abstracts, author-supplied keywords, author names, and the full text of posted articles. This makes it an effective tool for current awareness and research discovery.

Institutional Partnerships

• SSRN partners with numerous journals, publishers, and institutions to provide working papers and abstracts for distribution through its eLibrary and electronic journals. This partnership model ensures a continuous flow of high-quality research content.

Benefits

• Enhanced Visibility: SSRN increases the visibility of research, helping authors build their online presence and credibility.
• Global Reach: The platform disseminates research globally, making it accessible to a diverse audience.
• Impact Measurement: SSRN provides metrics to track the impact of research, including downloads, citations, and social media engagement.
• Early Feedback: Researchers can receive early feedback on their work through the platform, even before formal publication.
• Affordability: The freemium model ensures that submissions and downloads are free, with additional services available at a reasonable cost.

In summary, SSRN is a powerful tool for the social science and humanities research community, offering a comprehensive platform for the dissemination, discovery, and impact measurement of research. Its specialized networks, freemium model, and advanced search features make it an indispensable resource for researchers and institutions worldwide.