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Researcher Profiles, Identifiers and Engagement

This guide provides information about how to create, use and promote your online research presence.

Own your online presence

Establishing your digital identity can assist your research and your career. Don't risk missing an opportunity because someone interested in your work is left wondering 'Who is this researcher?'. To make a good impression, you need a professional profile with complete information. Make sure that your profile describes your current work, career highlights and options for engaging with you.

Use your profile to:

  • Showcase your research achievements
  • Manage your publications and other research outputs
  • Avoid misidentification
  • Attribute your research to JCU
  • Track your citations
  • Connect and engage with other researchers and research communities around the world

It is not possible to anticipate who might want to know more about your research. People might search on your name or your area of research because they are:

  • looking for potential project collaborators
  • assessing your work for academic promotions
  • potential higher degree research students looking for supervisors
  • from industry or an NGO and are looking for a consultant or expert advice
  • a journalist looking for an expert opinion
  • assessing your funding proposal
  • a potential employer.

Unsure where to start? Follow these steps, along with the checklist below:

  1. Review your current online presence: "Google yourself" using different combinations of your name, JCU / previous institution, area of research. What can be removed or improved? Develop a plan of attack to take control of your online research presence.
  2. Select one or two tools as the base for your online presence. If you are starting out we recommend your JCU Research Profile and ORCID. If you are an established researcher, we strongly recommend adding Scopus Author Identifier, Web of Science Researcher Profile, and Google Scholar Profile.
  3. Consider adding your JCU Research Profile and ORCID to your email signature, or any place you are likely to encounter potential interest in your research e.g. link to your profile in title slides of conference presentations, personal websites, or other social media.
  4. Schedule regular time throughout the year to manage your profiles as an ongoing commitment - be ready for new opportunities.

This Library Guide is designed to assist you build a professional online presence for communicating and promoting your research. The options listed in this guide indicate tools that are commonly being used by researchers. Let your Liaison Librarian know if there are other tools that you would like to know more about, or assistance with.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License, unless otherwise noted. Content from this Guide should be attributed to James Cook University Library. This does not apply to images, third party material (seek permission from the original owner) or any logos or insignia belonging to JCU or other bodies, which remain All Rights Reserved.

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