woman updating a University of Auckland Discovery Profile on her laptop

Improve your Discovery Profile in five easy steps

Your Discovery Profile is an external profile created by the University of Auckland for its academic staff and doctoral candidates. It increases the visibility of your research and expertise and can improve your reputation as a researcher. Keeping your Discovery Profile public, complete and up to date will help you gain higher citation rates, as well as more funding and collaboration opportunities. Check your Discovery Profile.

Follow this simple checklist to ensure your Discovery Profile is setting you up for success:

  1. Do you have an ORCID ID? Do you use it?

Many people have similar or even identical names. This poses a big problem for research databases. An ORCID ID is a unique, persistent identifier that makes linking your identity and publications easier, ensuring that you are appropriately credited for your work. It is free of charge and remains with you during your lifetime wherever you work. For more information, see ORCID.

  1. Are your publications in Research Outputs up to date?

To make it easier to keep your publication list up to date, you can set up automatic claiming and a name-based search with name variants. This will allow the system to identify your publications and automatically claim them on your behalf. Learn how to set up searches and automatic claiming.

  1. Are your publications open access?

University policy and many funders now require authors to make their research open access where possible. A free and easy way to make your work open access is by depositing a version of your article into Research Outputs. Learn how and why to do this.

  1. Are your social and web links listed on your profile?

You can add links to websites, social media and other research profiles to your Discovery Profile. This can be your company or personal website, blog, portfolio or an external profile such as ResearchGate, Google Scholar or Twitter. You can add relevant YouTube videos, such as presentations or interviews, to attract the viewer’s attention. See Managing your Discovery Profile.

  1. Are you using all available profile tabs?

The Teaching and Supervision tab displays teaching activities, such as courses you have taught, coordinated or developed and current and completed graduate supervisions. Professional activities like community service, memberships, event participation and administration will populate your profile’s Engagement tab. Make sure you use all available tabs to showcase the range of your experience and expertise. See Capturing your research outputs.

If you need help with your Discovery Profile, contact the Staff Service Centre.

Research Services