Research Impact

The four most recommended Researcher IDs are ORCID iD, ResearcherID from the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus Author Identifier, and Google Scholar Profile. Consider creating Researcher IDs and developing researcher profiles in each of the four databases since they offer valuable data collection options that will aid in developing a comprehensive evaluation of your research impact. Since the WoS, Scopus and Google Scholar collect information about authors and scholarly works published in journal articles they index, researchers can expect different research impact summaries from each database. 

ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID)

• "ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and that distinguishes you from every other researcher."
• Visit the ORCID web page to register for a free ORCID iD and to learn more details about how you can use your ORCID number.
• In your personal ORCID account you can add information about your scholarly publications and other scholarly output.
• ORCID works with WoS, Scopus and Google Scholar as you can search for published scholarly articles in each of these three databases to import into your ORCID record.
• Increasingly more journal publishers are requiring authors to provide an ORCID iD in order to publish scholarly research - e.g. PLOS Journals, EMBO Press, Science, BMJ Journals etc.
• Bibliometric data, e.g. number of times an article is cited, h-index, i-10 index etc., is not collected or calculated in the ORCID program.

• "A Web of Science ResearcherID is a unique identifier that differentiates researchers in the Web of Science."
• It is not the same as your ORCID iD.
• One way to view your ResearcherID is to create a Web of Science Researcher Profile. Access the Web of Science database and then click on the Register link.
• A ResearcherID will automatically be generated for you when you create a Web of Science Researcher Profile.
• The Web of Science Researcher Profile provides you with the opportunity to add your publications, state your preferred name and affiliation, and link your ORCID account.
• Based on the publications in your Researcher Profile that are indexed in the Web of Science, the Web of Science will provide Researcher Profile metrics such as the sum of times cited, h-index, verified peer review and the number of publications in the database.
• Information in the Researcher Profile can be exported for use in grant applications, annual reports and your cv.

• The Scopus Author Identifier is automatically generated by Scopus. Furthermore, it is a distinctive identifier given to each author who has published a scholarly article that is indexed in Scopus.
• It is not the same as your ORCID iD.
• Where do I find a Scopus Author Identifier?
• Like the Scopus Author Identifier, Scopus automatically creates the Scopus Author Profile.
• Your ORCID account can be linked to the Scopus Author Profile.
• The Author Profile page contains some bibliometric data such as the number of published documents and the h-index. Moreover, there are two links on the Author Profile page - Analyze author output and Citation overview - where you can find more detailed bibliometric data.

• In order to create a Google Scholar Profile, you must have a Google account - for example, a gmail account. Create a Google account if you do not have one.
• On the Google Scholar web page select the My profile link and sign in with your Google account information.
• To set up your Google Scholar Profile add the required information in the Profile, Articles and Settings sections.
• A Google Scholar Profile will contain citations for scholarly works retrieved by Google Scholar. There is an option to make the profile available to the public or you can keep it private.
• You can import citations retrieved by Google Scholar into your ORCID account.
• Google Scholar collects and calculates some bibliometric data such as number of times cited, h-index and i-10 index.