Research Visibility and Impact
New ways of communicating scientific discoveries through open science platforms, also known as academic profile platforms, have emerged for storing, publishing and disseminating research findings.
These academic profile platforms have the added advantage of openness and enhance research visibility and impact.
Systems and Tools
- ORCID is a free, unique, and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes individual researchers from one another. It helps ensure that your work, whether publications, datasets, peer reviews, or grants, is correctly attributed to you, even if you have a common name or change affiliations.
- Before registering for an ORCID ID, it is helpful to review the steps below to understand what ORCID is and how to manage your profile effectively:
- What is ORCID? - learn what ORCID is and why it is important for researchers.
- How to register for an ORCID account - create your unique ORCID ID to start building your academic profile.
- Edit names on ORCID - ensure your name is correctly displayed and matches your publications.
- Add personal information - include biography, employer, qualification, experience, professional activities, websites, social links, keywords, affiliations, country, and other key details.
- Connect and add publications from Scopus to your ORCID - import your research outputs from trusted databases like Scopus.
- Update your ORCID record - keep your ORCID profile current with new achievements and roles.
- Reset your ORCID password - regain access to your account if you've forgotten your password.
- Remove or delete duplicate ORCID IDS - clean up your identity by merging or deleting extra ORCID accounts.
- Import publications from your Google Scholar to ORCID.
- After reviewing the steps, you can register for an ORCID account.
- Publons & Web of Science Researcher ID: Tools to manage your publication list, track citations, and verify peer review contributions.
- Create a research data profile and add your datasets using Figshare.
Training Material
Enhancing research visibility and impact is crucial for researchers and institutions aiming to maximise the reach and significance of their scholarly work. Strategies to improve visibility and impact include effective dissemination through publishing in reputable journals, utilising social media and academic networking platforms, engaging with stakeholders, and leveraging metrics and analytics to understand and enhance research dissemination and engagement.
The framework on research visibility and impact provides researchers with structured guidance and strategies to enhance the reach, influence, and recognition of their research output.
The LIS has developed a Research visibility check tool that provides comprehensive profile management, allowing researchers to centralise and manage their online presence.
Training Material
- Research Visibility and Impact LibGuide
- Maximising Research Impact
- NWU Research Visibility Check Tool
- Framework on research visibility and impact
Science communication refers to the practice of conveying scientific information and concepts to non-expert audiences in an accessible and understandable manner. It aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and the public, making scientific knowledge more engaging, relevant, and understandable to society at large.
Researchers are increasingly expected to create communication assets and engage in science communication by creating communication assets (such as summaries or republishing articles, infographics, video abstracts, visual abstracts, podcasts, and short videos) to make their findings accessible to non-specialist audiences. Engaging in science communication helps bridge the gap between research and society, fostering understanding and societal benefits. These communication assets can be archived/stored on Boloka.
Training Material