Manage your profiles in citation databases

When you publish an article or receive a grant, this information is indexed by relevant research databases. These databases provide citation metrics that help show the reach of your work.

You can use their data to support your grant and job applications.

Common examples include:

  • Scopus, which focuses on citation data, author metrics and journal-indexed publications
  • Web of Science, which provides citation indexing, author records and analytics through its Core Collection
  • Dimensions, which includes publications, patents, grants and clinical trials, and gives a broad view of research impact.

Most research databases create author profiles automatically based on the publications they index. Your profile may already exist, even if you have not set it up yourself. You can use these profiles to support your research visibility.

Check if you have a profile

Search for your name in each database:

  • Scopus Authors search
  • Web of Science Researchers search
  • Dimensions Researcher search
    1. Click on Researcher tab under the Filters column
    2. Click View more and enter your name in the search box
    3. If a profile is found, select it and click Add to search - a filtered view will be shown
    4. Click on View Profile under your name.

Open the profile and review the listed publications and affiliations to check whether it matches your research.

Create, claim or manage your profile

If you find your profile, creating an account and signing in to the platform may allow you to claim and manage your profile, and request corrections.

If you do not already have an account:

  • In Scopus, create an account in order to manage your Scopus Author Profile
  • In Web of Science, register for an account in order to create or manage your researcher profile.

When reviewing or managing your profile, check that:

  • publications are correctly attributed to you
  • works that are not yours are removed
  • missing publications are added (where supported).

Check for duplicate profiles, which can occur if your name appears in different formats.

Most platforms provide a way to request profile merges or corrections.

  • Scopus:
    Request a Scopus Author Profile update
  • Web of Science: 
    Select multiple profiles and use the ‘Merge Records’ option
  • Publons:
    Publons academic profiles merged with Web of Science Researcher Profiles in 2022. If you used to have a Publons profile, find out how to manage your merged Publons and Web of Science profile (formerly Publons)
  • Dimensions:
    You cannot update your Dimensions profile. However, you can link it to your ORCID profile to be automatically updated. You can also use the ‘Provide Feedback’ or ‘Report’ feature in Dimensions.

Connect to ORCID

Connect all your profiles to your ORCID record. This will ensure consistency of your research record and save you time. This can usually be done from either platform:

  • From ORCID:
    use the Search & link option in the Works or Funding sections to connect to supported databases
  • From the database profile:
    look for an option to connect or export to ORCID and follow the prompts to authorise access.

Connecting your profiles allows publications and other research outputs to be shared between systems, reducing manual updates and improving accuracy.

Learn how to connect your citation database profiles to your ORCID ID.