Research Profile: Home

What is a Research Profile? 

A research profile is a user-friendly and efficient way of showcasing a researcher’s work online.^[1]   Examples of research profile web sites include author identifiers such as ORCID, academic social networks, and departmental web sites.  

What are the advantages for researchers of creating a profile?

• greater visibility of research and scholarly outputs, thus greater potential to attract students, collaborators, and industry partners
• accurate identification of works through use of a unique identifier for each researcher
• demonstration of impact through citation tracking and traditional and alternative metrics
• greater awareness of research and scholarly activities on similar topics

In addition to creating a research profile, researchers may consider activities such as blogging, participating in other social media platforms, providing metrics for their publications, and making their publications openly accessible.

What is your purpose in developing a research profile?

As you can see in the menu on the left, there are many different tools for creating a research profile. When deciding which tool you will use, you should consider the purpose of your research profile.  Your goals may include:

• Maintaining a comprehensive list of your research work
• Networking with other scholars
• Sharing your research results with other scholars and the public
• Demonstrating the impact of your work
• Gaining awareness of research in progress

How much time and effort do you want to put into updating and maintaining your research profile?

Updating and maintaining an effective research profile, particularly engaging in academic social networks, takes time. Knowing how much time you can commit will help you select the right research profile tool. This chart from the UBC Library lists the characteristics of various research profile tools, and indicates the time commitment required to maintain them.