The author name you use for publications and other research activities is key to enhancing the discoverability of your research and establishing a digital presence. Authors should use the same variation of their name consistently throughout their academic and research careers.
Below are some recommendations for authors to ensure consistent author profiles.
Are you using the same version of your name consistently for all your research products and activities?
Check your name in PubMed, Scopus or Google Scholar. How many authors share your name? How many authors with a similar name have publications in the same subject area? If you find similarities in author names, consider adding your full middle name or using your middle initial to distinguish it from other authors.
Do you have an ORCID ID?
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes authors from other authors and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between authors and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognized. Registering for an ORCID ID establishes a unique ORCID profile for you and remains with you throughout your career regardless of any name or affiliation changes. Your profile contains four sections: Education, Employment, Funding, and Works (use Scopus or Web of Science to populate the Works section). Users can add links to research or lab websites and also note name changes, which may be of interest to anyone whose name has changed or will change after marriage or divorce. Privacy settings are available and controlled by you. To register, complete a short registration form and select “Register.” After you complete the registration process, you can sign in to ORCID via Washington University using your WUSTL Key. See ORCID for more information.
Have you checked your name in Scopus?
Scopus is the world's largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed research literature with over 60 million records. To help users find the literature, Scopus assigns a unique author identifier number to authors to match publication records to authors. Due to similar names or incomplete publication data, authors often have more than one Scopus identifier number resulting in multiple author profiles. Authors are encouraged to check their name in Scopus and, if multiple author profiles are found, authors should use the Author Feedback Wizard tool to merge the profiles. Or if you prefer, let Becker Library take care of merging your profiles by contacting Cathy Sarli or Amy Suiter.
See Establishing Your Author Profile for more information on author profiles and resources. For questions, contact Cathy Sarli or Amy Suiter.