Next steps
- Set up your ORCID to establish your unique identity as a researcher.
- Use the 4-Step model in the Publishing Plan Toolkit to find and publish in a suitable quality publishing outlet.
- For datasets, and before ethics approval, complete a Research Data Management Plan (RDMP).
Policies
WSU Policies
Other related policies
- ARC Open Access Policy
- Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018)
- AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research
- The Australian Code For The Care And Use Of Animals For Scientific Purposes 8th edition ( 2013)
- NHMRC Open Access Policy
- The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023)—Effective 1 January 2024
Step 4. Track
Bookmark your ORCID profile and researcher IDs, and document key metrics for grant applications and promotions
It is essential to monitor the impact of your published research, which can be done through various metrics. These metrics provide insight into how your work is being read, discussed, and utilised within and beyond your field.
There are numerous methods for tracking your research outcomes, and the sources of these metrics are diverse. Traditional citation counts, among others, offer valuable indicators of your work's influence and can help shape your future publishing strategies.
How Western Sydney University uses metrics
Measures of research impact are essential for the University to show how well it performs on a global research stage. A strong reputation for research will attract new researchers and collaborative partners from Industry and Government sectors and open additional research funding opportunities.
- To help you prepare for grant applications, refer to the Grant Application Development Resources, Researcher Report Cards for relevant metrics and your Researcher Activity Statement (RAS) (which are both available from the WSU Research Portal), and research impact, collaboration, and engagement metrics (defer to Scopus and SciVal data where possible, as it is used by the University for reporting and in most world university ranking methodologies.
- For national research assessment by Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), eligible journal articles must be published in journals on the ERA Journal List and be indexed by the citation provider Clarivate (Web of Science). Journal articles are assessed for ERA eligibility using Citation and Peer review discipline measures described under Key Quality Indicators in the ERA Evaluation Framework.
- To help you prepare for academic promotion, refer to Academic Promotions,
Further information is available from the Metrics for Grant Applications and Promotions guide.
National and World University Rankings
Western Sydney University is involved in tracking metrics that influence key rankings, such as:
National Ranking
ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia) evaluates the quality of research in Australian Universities
World University Rankings
- ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities): ARWU World Rankings, ARWU Subject Rankings
- QS (Quacqarelli Symmonds): QS World University Rankings, QS University Rankings by Subject
- THE (Times Higher Education): THE Impact Rankings, THE Times AU Subject Rankings, THE World University Rankings, THE Young University Rankings
- U.S. News: Best Global Universities
Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)
The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) aims to improve the ways scholarly research is evaluated.
How to bookmark your ORCID profile and researcher IDs
Once you have created and set up your ORCID profile and researcher IDs, consider bookmarking (also known as deep linking or direct linking) your ORCID record and researcher IDs.
Bookmarking
Your researcher ID is a way to showcase your academic achievements, publications, interests, and activities online. It can help you increase your visibility, impact, and recognition as a researcher and connect with other researchers and potential collaborators. There are different platforms and tools that you can use to create and manage your researcher IDs, and you can set up bookmarks to your researcher IDs for easy access.
ORCID
Your ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a unique identifier that links your publications and other research outputs across different platforms and databases. It also allows you to import and export your data from other sources, such as Scopus, CrossRef, DataCite, etc. You can create an ORCID by registering for a free account on the ORCID website.
If you are applying for grants, also link your ARC Researcher Management System (RMS) to your ORCID.
Scopus Author ID (includes SciVal)
Scopus is a database that includes over 25,000 journals and other sources across various disciplines. It automatically assigns you a Scopus Author ID when at least one publication is indexed in Scopus. It also groups your publications and citations under one profile and provides you with various metrics, such as h-index, citation count, and field-weighted citation impact. You can find your Scopus Author ID by searching for your name or publications on the Scopus website. You can also request corrections or merges if your profile is incomplete or duplicated. You can also link your Scopus Author ID to your ORCID by following the instructions on the Scopus website.
SciVal (Institutional login required) is a research performance assessment tool that enables analysis of Scopus data. Consider the following:
- Have you checked your SciVal citation metrics, author-level metrics, h-index, and FWCI (Field Weighted Citation Impact)?
- Have you checked the SciVal metrics in your Research Activity Statement (RAS) (Institutional login is required to access your RAS via the Research Portal)
- Have you checked your SciVal impact metrics for Collaboration, Economic Output, and Societal Impact?
- Have you checked SciVal (Institutional login required) for audience reach and engagement? Search by Topics and Clusters > Countries & Regions
- Is your research appearing in SciVal SDG query search results?
- Have you tracked your PlumX metrics in Scopus? (Institutional login required). Access your shareable research reports from SciVal Reporting.
Web of Science ResearcherID
This is another database that includes over 21,000 journals and other sources across various disciplines.
Create a Web of Science ResearcherID and link it to your ORCID by following the instructions on the Web of Science website. Also, track your metrics, such as h-index, citation count, and Journal Impact Factor (JIF).
To bookmark your Web of Science Researcher Profile, use the following URL format: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/XXX-XXXX-XXXX, where XXX-XXXX-XXXX is your Web of Science ResearcherID. For example, https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/AGO-0950-2022
Google Scholar Profile
Google Scholar is a platform that enables you to create a public profile that displays your publications and citations from Google Scholar. It is particularly good at finding content not indexed in Scopus, Web of Science or other key indexing platforms. It also helps you track your metrics, such as h-index, i10-index, and co-authors.
You can create a Google Scholar profile by signing in with your Google account and following the instructions on the Google Scholar website. You can also import and export your data from other sources, such as Scopus, CrossRef, DataCite, etc.
Altmetric Explorer
Altmetric Explorer is a tool that enables you to track the online attention and engagement of your research outputs, such as journal articles, books, datasets, media stories, etc. It collects data from various sources, such as social media, news outlets, blogs, policy documents, etc., and provides you with an Altmetric Attention Score and an Altmetric Badge for each output.
You can create an Altmetric Explorer account by registering with your institutional email address on the Altmetric Explorer website. For improved tracking of your work, link your Altmetric Explorer account to your ORCID record.
for "My Institution". Save the URL in your browser address bar as a favourite.
Consider the following:
- Have you tracked your research engagement in Altmetric Explorer (login required)? See these instructions on how to access your shareable research reports from Altmetric Explorer.
Researcher Reports
Do you know how to create or bookmark your researcher reports in SciVal and InCites? If not, contact your School Librarian for instructions.
Limitations and considerations
Some limitations and considerations for finding and deep linking to your researcher profiles are: You may have multiple profiles on different platforms or databases that are not linked or synchronised with each other. This may cause confusion or inconsistency among different versions of your profiles or publications. You may need to check and follow different policies and conditions from different platforms or databases regarding creating and managing your profiles or publications. You may need to update and maintain your profiles regularly to ensure the accuracy and visibility of your research outputs. You may need to protect your privacy and security when creating and sharing your profiles online. You may need to use different tools and methods to track your metrics across different platforms or databases, as they may use different sources, indicators, and calculations. You should also be aware of the limitations and criticisms of some metrics, such as impact factor, citation count, etc.
Key author metrics
Consider the following indicators for tracking and evaluating the impact of your article. See also: Elsevier Research metrics quick reference (PDF download).
FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS
For DECRA (data sourced from SciVal):
- Scholarly Output (over the last five years) - Total number of an author's research output. Provide this for the last five years.
- FWCI (Field Weighted Citation Impact) - how the number of citations received by an article compares to the average or expected number of citations received by other similar publications. Check your Scopus research profile or Web of Science.
- h-index — a calculated indicator of productivity and impact of a researcher. We recommend using the Scopus researcher profile h-index as your preferred h-index as the University and most world university rankings base their metrics on Scopus data and SciVal (which used Scopus data).
- Percent of Outputs in Top 10 citation percentile - the percentage of your papers that have been cited enough times to place them in the top 10%. This is normalised for category, year, and document type.
- Percent of Publications Cited - This is the percentage of your publications that have been cited.
Other key metrics:
- Publication [Document] count — the number of publications credited to a particular author. Check your Scopus or Web of Science researcher profile
- Citation count — the number of times other authors have cited an article
- Collaboration metrics — the percentage of papers produced with co-authors. Consider using both national and international collaboration metrics from SciVal or InCites (see: SciVal Collaboration and Impact metrics)
- Altmetrics (Alternative metrics) — track mentions, likes and shares on a variety of social platforms, online services and websites. Use Altmetric Explorer or your publication PlumX Metrics in Scopus.
- Web of Science Researcher Profile — for your record of peer review and service on editorial boards
FOR ACADEMIC PROMOTION APPLICATIONS
Visit the Research Metrics Toolkit to discover more ways to maximise your impact.