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Research Metrics and Scholarly Identity

This guide covers multiple aspects of scholarly communication. Learn what research metrics can be used for, what the most common metrics are and where to find them, how to define a scholarly identity, and how to use different tools to share that identity.

Defining Your Scholarly Identity

Tools for communicating your scholarly identity

  1. TopSCHOLAR @ WKU
    • WKU’s open access repository
    • The repository can host articles, books, theses, data, and multimedia content – allowing you to get cited for all kinds of scholarly activity
    • You can manage your own SelectedWorks profile, which allows you to showcase content, accomplishments, research interests, and links to professional organizations
  2. Personal website
    • A personal website (one that is created and curated by you) can serve as:
      • Your CV or portfolio
      • Your interface for interacting with academia
      • A blank slate for whatever you would like to highlight, including research metrics
    • You are welcome to make your site as interactive and graphically interesting as you like, but you only need a simple page to get started
  3. Identifiers / disambiguators
    • ORCID provides you with a unique ID number that can be used across many platforms (like a DOI for researchers)
    • Google Scholar allows you to create a profile and disambiguate your articles that are indexed in its system
  4. Profiles on academic social media platforms (Academia.edu, Mendeley, ResearchGate)
    • These platforms allow you to:
      • Create a free researcher profile
      • Share your work more broadly
      • Find collaborators and others interested in your work
    • A few things you should be cautious about when using any of those sites:
      • All of the platforms are for-profit, which means that there is a possibility they could be bought out or shut down. Therefore, do not use them for long term access and preservation of your publications—you should use an open access repository like TopSCHOLAR instead
      • These platforms do little to no curation or quality control of content, and sometimes works are shared that violate publisher licenses. Be cautious of copyright concerns during use
  5. Traditional social media platforms
    • Twitter and LinkedIn can be useful tools to:
      • Connect with other scholars in your field
      • Ask questions
      • “Crowdsource” ideas
      • Spread the word about your current projects
      • Publicize your articles and other outputs
Subjects: Tutorials & How-To