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Research Impact and Metrics

Well-managed profile

  • With a well-managed profile, you can always get updated and accurate citation metrics on your publications.

  • Use a consistent format of your name

  • Sign in the "Edit Profile" option, then review and update their profiles using the Scopus Author Feedback Wizard, ensuring accurate representation of your publishing information. 

You may review your profile and verify their publications, and control how your names,
title, institution, and profile image appear in the Web of Science Author Record.

You can also "Claim my record" and submit necessary updates
to reflect your full publication profile.

Author identifiers

ORCID - Open Researcher and Contributor ID

It is a 16-digit number and is associated with an ORCID profile where you can maintain a list of your scholarly outputs. You can choose to make your profile public, private, or limited access only. Maintaining an accurate ORCID profile allow you to get full credit for all your research outputs: 

  • make your work more discoverable which increases your research visibility and impact
  • reduces misattribution of your work to someone else, thus ensuring that you receive full credit for your work
  • improves your citation rates by linking your works to a single name
  • you can also link up your Scopus Author ID and Research ID under your profile

A Scopus ID is a unique identifier automatically assigned to authors whose publications are indexed in the Scopus database.

Multiple Scopus author IDs can arise due to author name ambiguity and other factors, such as prior affiliations. These multiple IDs lead to identity splitting and different publication clusters, potentially affecting the accuracy of an author’s bibliometric data and the discoverability of their works.

ResearchID presents a solution to researchers to create and update the profile with minimum efforts. ResearchID consolidates multiple research profiles and presents one-stop free individual webpage listing that includes all publications and achievements from multiple sources. ResearchID allows researchers to claim and showcase publications to collaborators while minimizing the manual updates.

No manual update to publications required, just submit your Scopus Author ID for list of publications and Google Scholar URL for citations, h-index, i-10 index.

 

Choose the right journals

You can use JCR to check journals of your areas of interests, find out the number of citations in a journal, Journal Impact Factors (JIF), JIF Quartile, etc.  

Click here to begin your search on Journal Citation Reports.

Journal Citation Reports

CiteScore - Measures average citations received per document published in the journal (in any year).

Scimago Journal & Country Rank

Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) measures weighted citations received by the serial. Citation weighting depends on subject field and prestige (SJR) of the citing serial.
Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) measures actual citations received relative to citations expected for the serial’s subject field.

Scimago Journal & Country Rank

SJR and SNIP scores can also be found under Scopus's "Source Details" page.

Publisher websites always have detailed information on their metrics.

Examples:

Journal Metrics Overview | Wiley

Understanding journal metrics - Author Services (taylorandfrancis.com)

Scopus metrics | Elsevier

Use Manuscript Matcher to find relevant, reputable journals for potential publication of your research based on an analysis of tens of millions of citation connections in Web of Science Core Collection.

 

How a widely used ranking system ended up with three fake journals in its top 10 philosophy list – Retraction Watch

Publish high quality research

Publish research that significantly contributes to your field, as these are most likely to be cited.

In 2005 Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman discovered that certain modifications of the building blocks of RNA prevented unwanted inflammatory reactions and increased
the production of desired proteins. The discovery laid the foundation for effective 
mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. (Read more)

As you can see from the citation graph below, there was a spike of citation of Karikó's papers during 2020-2023. It demonstrates that quality research, over time, consistently attracts citations.

 

Collaborate strategically

Working with established researchers, especially those with a high h-index, can increase the visibility and citation potential of your work.

Increase research visibility and accessibility

Open Access (OA) publishing can help increase citation and usage, as well as public engagement.

Examples:

 

Research data sharing

Advantages of research data sharing
  • Archive research data in a data repository 
  • Publish them in a data journal (Papers published in a data journal receive citations in the same manner as other academic articles). 
  • Colavizza, G., Hrynaszkiewicz, I., Staden, I., Whitaker, K., & McGillivray, B. (2020). The citation advantage of linking publications to research data. PLoS ONE, 15(4), e0230416. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230416
  • Piwowar, H. A., Day, R. S., & Fridsma, D. B. (2007). Sharing Detailed Research Data Is Associated with Increased Citation Rate. PLoS ONE, 2(3), e308. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000308

Ways of research data sharing
Archive research data in a data repository

Examples:
Publish research data in a data journal (Papers published in a data journal receive citations in the same manner as other academic articles).

Examples of prominent data journal:

  • Scientific Data (by Springer Nature) is a peer-reviewed open-access journal for descriptions of datasets and research that advances the sharing and reuse of research data. This journal primarily publishes Data Descriptors, a type of publication that focuses on helping others reuse data and crediting those who share. 
  • Geoscience Data Journal (by Wiley) is a scientific data journal advancing the understanding of Earth system science through the publication of data.
  • Data in Brief is a multidisciplinary, open access, peer-reviewed journal, which mainly publishes short, digestible data articles that describe and provide access to research data.

 

Impact case studies

Focus on the key findings, breakthroughs, and the improvement you achieved as a result of your research. Present in simple and direct languages for both academic and non-academic stakeholders. When people are interested, they will be more likely to read and/or cite your works.

​​​​Examples:

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is a strategy to improve the discoverability and search rankings of your paper in different search engines such as Google, google scholar, and PubMed. A good SEO will significantly increase the readership of your research publications.

Source:
Schilhan, L., Kaier, C., & Lackner, K. (2021). Increasing visibility and discoverability of scholarly publications with academic search engine optimization.
Insights the UKSG journal (34), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.534 Social Media

Promote your work

Ways to promote your works
  • Actively disseminate your research through social media
  • Join and engage with academic research sharing network, e.g. ResearchGate, Mendeley, Academia.edu
  • Present your paper at a conference
  • Include your paper in your email signature

An interesting example
  • Catchy three-part phrases in titles boost citations: 32 extra for medical papers and 3.5 for economics.
  • Over 328,000 papers show these titles enhance clarity and attract more readers.
  • Experts expect increased use, but citation practices vary by field and author.

 

Sources:

(1) Bornmann, L. & Wohlrabe, K. Pattern, Perception, and Performance: Tripartite Phrases in Academic Paper Titles. CESifo Working Paper 11671 (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute, 2025).

(2) https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00771-3

Track the citation metrics of your papers

Track the citation metrics of your paper and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Issue about authorship

 
  • Research shows that sharing first authorship on papers does not harm perceived reputation, even for the second author.
  • A study involved 170 researchers evaluating a fictitious CV with varying authorship placements.
  • Panelists rated the fictitious author higher as sole first author but did not view shared authorship negatively.
  • The trend of shared first authorship is increasing, reflecting the complexity of modern research.

Sources:

(1) Decius, J., Schilbach, M. Fair credit? The impact of shared first authorship on academic career evaluation. Scientometrics (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-025-05262-w

(2) https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00869-8