February/March 2019 crowd researchers of the month

Each month we like to recognize the top performing Crowd researchers for their outstanding work in the AOP Connect™ platform.  The Highlighter of the Month and each of the runners up receive a reward for their contributions – Congratulations to our Crowd! 

Highlighter of the Month - February/March:

• TopAdvisor
• Smylie

• TopAdvisor
• cean66

• HyperInfo
• ggp1989
• ekku007
• pooja1377
• eyecare
• anmanm

Read the below interview with one of our top Researchers of the Month to find out more about what it’s like to be a researcher for the only company that crowdsources IP searches: 

Name Smylie

Country USA

What is your profession? Science Writer/Editor

What is your education background? Masters in Biotechnology

What, if any, experience do you have in patent research? RWS is my only experience with patent research.

What skills are the most useful in your research with RWS?

• Knowledge of technical terminology.
• Ability to quickly understand the main points of research and technical articles, even when I have no prior knowledge of the topic.
• Experience formulating searches and refining search terms to get better results.
• Ability to go straight to the data presented in non-patent literature without wasting a lot of time reading background information.

How did you first learn about RWS? Online advertisement.

What languages do you speak? English and German.

What do you enjoy most about being an RWS Researcher?

It's something I can do on my own time.

What is the most challenging aspect of RWS Research? Finding references that meet all of the research requirements. Sometimes identifying which research requirement can be met at all is a challenge.

What online or offline resources do you use in your research? (i.e. IEEE Xplore, PubMed, Library, etc.) Primarily Google Scholar, Google, and PubMed. I generally limit my participation to studies where I can likely find the answer online.

What have you learned about researching, technology, or patents since joining RWS? I've learned a lot about computer vision, image processing, and consumer electronics that I did not know before.

How will you use your reward money? I'm saving up for a down payment on a house.

Would you recommend researching with RWS to a friend or colleague? Why or why not? I would recommend it to someone who has good literature research skills if they also have the time to develop a good understanding of the RWS AOP Connect platform.

What are your Top 3 Tips for being an RWS Researcher?

1. Be persistent.
2. Be open to studies that are outside your main areas of expertise.
3. Learn how to scan documents as quickly and effectively as possible.

What is the most exciting story or discovery you have made while searching for prior art? Finding prior art written by people I know or have worked with (on unrelated research) is always humorous. 

RWS offers a full spectrum of research options to address your specific project goals and budget requirements. From traditional research performed by proven subject matter experts, to crowdsourced research from our Crowd, RWS has the right solution for your matter.