Measure Your Research Impact: Author Identifiers & Profiles
Created by Health Science Librarians
Library Data Services
Library Data Services caters to researchers interested in working with data, mapping, texts, visualization, and technology. Many of these services are available online. Davis Library Data Services, located on the second floor of Davis Library, offers:
- A computing lab with specialized software for GIS and data visualization & analysis.
- Walk-in assistance provided by knowledgeable student consultants during set hours.
- Consultations with specialists for more in-depth inquiries (by appointment).
- Spaces for collaboration and presentation, complete with white boards and external displays.
- Technology short courses and programs that promote digital scholarship.
What are Author Identifiers?
Author identifiers are unique identifiers that allow authors distinguish themselves from other researchers and to unambiguously associate themselves with their work.
Author ambiguity in the scholarly community is a persistent problem due to:
- One author publishing under multiple variations of the same name
- Common names
- Name changes, e.g. marriage
- Cultural differences in naming
Distinguish Yourself!
Learn More About Author Identifiers
- Author Identifier OverviewPost on PLoS Blogs provides a concise explanation of author identifiers.
- Scientists: your number is upBrief article in Nature explaining the purpose and benefits of ORCID.
- Name Identification Using the ISNIInterview about the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI), another author identifier system.
Comparison of Author Identifiers
| Scopus Author Identifier | ||
| What is it? |
Persistent digital identifiers for researchers |
Automatically generated identifier number within Scopus |
| Integrated with... | Open, non-profit community effort that has partnered with many universities, commercial research organizations, national funding agencies, publishers and professional societies | Scopus |
| Create your own profile? | Yes | No, but can request to merge profiles if you have multiple Author Identifiers |
| How do I add publications to my profile? |
Import from partner organizations, e.g. Web of Science, Scopus, CrossRef, etc. Import BibTex file of citations Add via DOI, PubMed ID or ArcXiv ID Enter manually |
You can only request that changes be made to your profile |
| Features |
Add citations for ALL types of scholarly outputs, not just publications. Add external identifiers, e.g. ResearcherID, Scopus Author Identifier Link to other systems or profiles, e.g. NIH eRA Commons, SciENcv biosketch creation tool, Google Scholar, LinkedIn, and others You choose what information to make public |
Provides citation metrics
|
| Best used for... |
Managing research activities and author identifiers in one place Grant and manuscript submissions: many publishers and funding organizations have implemented or are planning to implement ORCID. |
Ensures that your publications are properly attributed in Scopus Allows others to easily locate your publications in Scopus |
| Where can I get it? |
Create and Connect your ORCID to UNC-Chapel Hill via UNC ORCID Portal. If not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, register for free at ORCID |
Check profile at Scopus Follow these instructions for requesting corrections to your profile |
Create an ORCID
- ORCID: Open Researcher and Contributor IDUniversity Libraries' step-by-step guide to creating your ORCID iD, connecting it to UNC-Chapel Hill, and efficiently adding works to your ORCID record.
Author Profiles
Building your academic profile online can help demonstrate your authority and area of expertise, as well as, identify research interests and find potential collaborators. Creating and managing your own profile gives you control over the information available about you and ensures other researchers are finding correct and complete information about your research and career.
There are several different profile platforms available with slightly different focuses:
• Researcher Communities such as Academia.edu, ResearchGate
• Reference managment tools with social function such as Mendeley
• Search engines with author profiles such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and ResearcherID
Comparison of Author Profile Sites
| Google Scholar Citations | Research Gate | Academia.edu | Mendeley | ||
| Overview |
Profile and Author Identifier integrated into Scopus Free to search but profile does not appear in mainstream search engines Account automatically is created when author's first publication is indexed by Scopus |
Profile | Profile | Profile | Profile |
| Biography |
No |
No, only affliations and research interests | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Publication List | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Linked Publications | Yes | Yes | Possible | Possible | Yes |
| Adding (semi) automatic | Yes, only articles indexed by Scopus are included | Yes (not always accurate) | PubMed, IEEE, Cite Seer, BMC | Crossref, Microsoft AS, PubMed, ArVix | Available via many search engines and when RIS or BibTeX files are available |
| Includes metrics | Yes | Yes | Yes | No traditional metrics but does show page and document views | Yes, but metrics are only visible to the profile owner |
| Social Media | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Number of Users | Unknown | Unknown | ~5m | ~15.5m | Over 2.5m |
Correcting Your Author Profile
- Scopus Author Feedback WizardTool to collect all your Scopus records in one unique author profile.
- Scopus CorrectionsSubmit corrections to author details.