In a landscape of growing research outputs and competition, how can researchers effectively set themselves apart from others? How can the connection between an individual and their scholarly work be preserved, in a working environment where changes in affiliation or contact information are common?
Researcher Profiles can be the answer to these questions. Systems such as Pure, ORCID, Scopus, Web Of Science and Google Scholar, collate your research outputs and activities bringing you many benefits:
- Highlight your work on a global scale.
- Manage your list of publications efficiently.
- Facilitate recognition by potential collaborators.
- Avoiding misidentification.
- Ensure proper attribution of your research outputs to you and UoA.
- Provide more accurate citation counts associated with your work.
Some profiles, such as Scopus and Web of Science, are automatically created for you while others, such as ORCID, will need to be created by you.
Top Tip: Link different systems to each other to make sure they update automatically and stay current. Check out our "How-to Guides" in the menu below.
- Google Scholar Profile
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Google Scholar Profiles are individual researcher profiles within Google Scholar, a freely accessible search engine that indexes scholarly literature. These profiles showcase a researcher's publications and basic citation metrics such as citation count and h-index. Due to their popularity and easy discoverability, Google Scholar Profiles serve as a valuable tool for researchers to enhance visibility, and connect with others in their academic field.
Limitations: Google Scholar does not employ a rigorous quality control process for the inclusion of publications, potentially including non-peer-reviewed or less reputable sources. The automatic extraction of data often lead to inaccuracies, duplication, or misattribution of publications, impacting the reliability of content and citation metrics.
- ORCID
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Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a non-profit organization that provides researchers with a unique and persistent digital identifier known as an ORCID iD. This identifier distinguishes individuals from others in the academic and research community, helping to eliminate authorship confusion. Researchers can link their ORCID to their scholarly activities, such as publications, grants, and affiliations, creating a centralised and standardised record of their contributions. ORCIDs are increasingly integrated into academic workflows and systems, facilitating accurate attribution of research output and enhancing collaboration and visibility within the global research landscape. Adoption of ORCID supports the principles of open science and contributes to a more transparent and connected scholarly ecosystem.
Register for your own ORCID here
ORCID explainer videos to set up your record
Quick guides on how to link your ORCID to:
- PURE Researcher Profile
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PURE is the research management system used by the University. It organises and manages information related to research activities, publications, datasets, projects, collaborations and awards providing a comprehensive overview of researchers affiliated with the University of Aberdeen.
Find out more about Pure Researcher Profiles and how to connect it to your ORCID
Watch our ExplORe session "Essential Guide to Pure Profiles" and learn how to get the best out of your Pure Researcher Profile
- Scopus Researcher Profile
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Scopus automatically assigns profiles to authors once they publish in Scopus indexed journals. In the cases where authors have name variants or have recently changed affiliation, Scopus may create different profiles for the same author. This causes the publications of a single author to be spread over a number of different profiles which prevents author metrics to be tracked correctly and a lower citation count! Linking your Scopus profile to your ORCID will prevent this from happening.
Data from Scopus are also used in some of the University rankings; If your publications are attributed to the wrong institution, your publication record and citation metrics will not be included in the University of Aberdeen score.
Limitation: Research outputs published in Journals not indexed in Scopus will not appear on your profile.
- Web of Science Researcher Profile
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Once you are a published author, Web of Science (WoS) automatically creates a researcher's online identity. It is good practice to check that the publications in your profile are correct and up to date. This will ensure that your metrics are tracked correctly, increase your visibility, and make your work easily discoverable to those interested in reading or citing your research. Data from WoS are also used in some of the University rankings and REF; If your publications are attributed to the wrong institution, your publication record and citation metrics will not be included in the University of Aberdeen score.
Limitation: Research outputs published in Journals not indexed in Web of Science won't be visible on your profile. Some preprints published on preprint repositories indexed in Web of Science may be displayed, but won't contribute to your citation metrics.
How to claim your WoS Researcher Profile and link it to your ORCID