I’ve been wondering about ResearchGate’s criteria for journal inclusion. It seems that ResearchGate only recognizes journals registered with CrossRef, but does not include those indexed in DOAJ unless they are also registered with CrossRef.

On its website, ResearchGate highlights the quality of CrossRef, but this raises a few questions:

• Why are DOIs obtained through other providers, like Zenodo or Medra, not considered of comparable quality?
• DOAJ is widely recognized as a database that ensures journals meet high-quality standards and actively excludes predatory journals. Isn’t that in line with ResearchGate’s goals?
• By excluding DOAJ-indexed journals not using CrossRef, does ResearchGate implicitly not recognize DOAJ as a reliable quality database?

DOAJ’s selection process is specifically designed to exclude predatory journals, much like ResearchGate’s goal of maintaining quality by recognizing CrossRef-registered journals. So, why this distinction?

I’d love to hear your thoughts or insights on this!