A research profile is a public record of your professional identity and research outputs. It reflects your expertise, impact and fields of interest.
Maintaining your research profile is important as it helps:
Researcher profiles are drawn from multiple platforms. Some platforms, such as Scopus and Web of Science, automatically create profiles which you can claim and manage. Others, such as ORCID and Google Scholar, require researchers to create and maintain their own profiles.
Keeping your profiles up to date is important. Visit platforms regularly to check for duplicate profiles, confirm publications are correctly attributed and ensure name variations are accurate.
Profiles support both traditional and non-traditional research outputs (NTROs). Traditional outputs include journal articles, books and book chapters. NTROs include patents, software, technical reports, creative works, performances, designs, exhibitions and other forms of scholarly engagement.
Traditional metrics are statistics that show your publications’ readership and usage and help identify your most popular works. Metrics databases like Scopus and Web of Science use metrics such as citations, topic analysis and journal impact factors to demonstrate your research influence and performance.
Alternative metrics can reveal the volume and nature of attention to your publications. This include social media engagement (such as likes, reposts and comments), as well as blog posts and news mentions. Alternative metrics are also where you might measure citations in public policy, clinical guidelines and patents.
Traditional and alternative metrics can be used for grant and promotion applications.
View guide: Research Metrics, Impact and Engagement
Knowing how to assess the impact or influence of your research is vital when you apply for research grant funding or seek academic promotion.
View guide: How to Use Metrics in Promotion and Grants – a self-help guide