How R Discovery achieved increased engagement with GetFTR

In January 2021, CACTUS integrated their research discovery tool, R Discovery, with GetFTR, marking one of the earliest adoptions of this cross-industry initiative.

R Discovery is an app designed to help students and researchers find and read research papers. Boasting one of the largest scholarly content repositories, it includes an index of over 250 million articles and serves 3 million users worldwide. The platform enables researchers to instantly discover or search for relevant literature, invite peers to collaborate on reading lists, and seamlessly organize and manage research and references.

In 2023, we published a case study showcasing the benefits of integrating GetFTR with R Discovery. The integration resulted in a more personalized experience for R Discovery users and increased full-text views by 20%.

This year, CACTUS conducted their own study to demonstrate the broader impact of R Discovery on the global academic community and its publisher partners. 

You can read the full case study on the R Discovery website, here are some new discoveries:

• Increased Value Through Personalization: Researchers who added their institution to their profiles enjoyed a more personalized experience, resulting in significantly higher retention (by 3.3x) and engagement rates (by 2x) compared to the average registered user.
• International Reach: R Discovery attracted researchers from both developed and emerging countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, highlighting its global appeal. GetFTR enables researchers who work in institutions in these countries to link to the content they are entitled to read. 
• Access for Leading Universities: Researchers from top universities used their institutional credentials to access full-text papers via GetFTR smart links across major subject areas through R Discovery.