Researcher Profiles are online tools that can enable users to showcase their publications and research data, promote their skills and experiences, network with others and increase the reach and impact of research. There are a wide range of Research Profile systems that each have different uses.
The amount of control you have differs between each platform, although most platforms will allow you to take some form of ownership over your profile, such as removing articles incorrectly attributed to you. Some platforms will automatically generate a profile for you when your work is indexed in their database by a publisher, which you can then claim, whilst others will require you to create your own profile.
Why are Researcher Profiles Beneficial?
Ensuring your work is accurately attributed and recognised: Research profiles enable you to keep a record of your publications in one place, meaning a record of all your research outputs remains even if you move between research institutions. Research profiles also prevent your work from being mistakenly attributed to other researchers with similar names.
Increase the reach of your publications and datasets by making them more discoverable: Research profiles pull all of your research and publications together into one place, making it easier for researchers to find your work and reducing issues that arise during literature searching.
Reduce administrative burden: Many research profiles can be integrated with other systems to allow you to easily update multiple profiles at the same time. Several funders also utilise research profile tools in their grant application and management systems to reduce the amount of information that need to be manually inputted into these systems, such as an applicant's employment and publication history.
Increase your exposure to potential collaborators, employers and funders: A researcher profile enables information about you, your work and career to be visible and accessible, encouraging collaboration. For instance, a research profile can be particularly useful for networking during conferences or promoting yourself after media appearances.
Access citation metrics and track the impact of your work: Some Research Profiles give you the ability to track research metrics and citations, and also see who has been discussing your work on social media, mentions of your work in policy documents, news articles and the media. These tools can be useful to see who is using and discussing your research, but also identify who isn’t and develop approaches to increase the impact of your work.
Click on the profiles tracking tab on the left to learn about the different researcher profiles most commonly used, and how to manage these. Please note, this list covers a wide range of databases and tools, but it is not exhaustive. Need guidance on another profile type? Please contact researchintelligence@lancaster.ac.uk.