Disambiguating Yourself : Online Identity Management for Researchers - A Quick User Guide

Macgregor, G. (2016) Disambiguating Yourself : Online Identity Management for Researchers - A Quick User Guide. Guide or manual. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

[thumbnail of DRAMS-2016-Disambiguating-yourself-online-identity-management-for-researchers]
Preview
Text. Filename: DRAMS_2016_Disambiguating_yourself_online_identity_management_for_researchers.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo

Download (2MB)| Preview

Abstract

The citation impact of academic authors is normally analysed using one or more of the following tools: Scopus (or SciVal, based on Scopus data), Web of Science, or Google Scholar. University ranking tables, such as the THES World University Rankings, also rely on citation data derived from these tools. It is therefore important that citation data compiled by these systems are as accurate as possible. Strathclyde researchers should therefore ensure they maintain their online identities within key research intelligence tools thus guaranteeing they receive academic credit for their research outputs. When an author publishes for the first time they are automatically assigned a Scopus ID (by Scopus - Elsevier) and/or a ResearcherID (by Web or Science – Thomson-Reuters). For name disambiguation reasons, identifying authors correctly can be problematic for Scopus and Web of Science and this can often mean that citations are either omitted or misassigned for outputs that belong to an individual’s publication history. This issue is often compounded by the numerous institutional affiliations authors may acquire during their career which, when combined with challenges surrounding name disambiguation, can make the correct assignation of citations very difficult. Sometimes authors may find that they have several identities within Scopus or Web Science thereby diluting their overall citation impact. Fortunately most of the above noted tools recognise that their data can be inaccurate and all therefore provide functionality such that authors can update data held about their research outputs.