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External Profiles

Link your external research profiles to automatically import publications, enhance your profile, and enable seamless authentication.

Supported Platforms​

ResearchConnectX integrates with:

  • ORCID - Persistent researcher identifier
  • Google Scholar - Publication tracking
  • ResearchGate - Academic networking
  • PubMed - Medical and life sciences publications

Benefits of Linking External Profiles​

Automatic Publication Import​

  • Publications automatically sync to your ResearchConnectX profile
  • Citations and metrics update regularly
  • No manual entry required
  • Reduces profile maintenance time

Enhanced Credibility​

  • Verified academic identity
  • Cross-referenced publication records
  • Validated institutional affiliations
  • Professional online presence

Seamless Authentication​

  • Use linked accounts to log in
  • Single sign-on capability
  • Simplified access management

Better AI Matching​

  • More comprehensive research profile
  • Accurate publication analysis
  • Improved topic detection
  • Enhanced collaborator recommendations

Linking Your ORCID​

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a persistent identifier for researchers.

Create an ORCID (If You Don't Have One)​

  1. Visit orcid.org
  2. Register for free
  3. Complete your ORCID profile
  4. Add your publications and affiliations

Method 1: During Registration​

  • Select Sign in with ORCID during registration
  • Authorize ResearchConnectX
  • Your ORCID is automatically linked

Method 2: From Settings​

  1. Go to Settings > External Profiles
  2. Find ORCID section
  3. Click Link ORCID
  4. Log in to ORCID if prompted
  5. Click Authorize to grant access
  6. You'll be redirected back to ResearchConnectX

What ResearchConnectX Accesses​

  • Your ORCID identifier
  • Public profile information
  • Employment and education history
  • Publication records
  • Peer review activity (if public)

ORCID Synchronization​

  • Frequency: Daily automatic sync
  • Manual Sync: Click Sync Now anytime
  • What Syncs: Publications, affiliations, biographical info

Linking Google Scholar​

Import your publication metrics and citations from Google Scholar.

Prerequisites​

  • A Google Scholar profile
  • Profile must be public or set to "visible to everyone"

Linking Process​

  1. Go to Settings > External Profiles
  2. Find Google Scholar section
  3. Click Link Google Scholar
  4. Enter your Google Scholar Profile URL
    • Find your profile URL at scholar.google.com
    • Should look like: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XXXXX
  5. Click Verify and Link
  6. ResearchConnectX verifies ownership
  7. Publications begin syncing

Verification Methods​

  • Matching email addresses
  • Matching institutional affiliation
  • Manual verification by administrators (if automatic fails)

What Gets Imported​

  • All your publications
  • Citation counts
  • h-index and i10-index
  • Co-author information
  • Publication venues

Google Scholar Sync​

  • Frequency: Daily updates
  • Manual Refresh: Click Refresh Publications
  • Citation Updates: Every 24 hours

Linking ResearchGate​

Connect your ResearchGate profile for additional publication sources.

Linking Steps​

  1. Navigate to Settings > External Profiles
  2. Select ResearchGate section
  3. Click Link ResearchGate
  4. Enter your ResearchGate Profile URL
    • Format: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Your-Name
  5. Click Connect
  6. Verify your identity (via email or institutional domain)

What Gets Imported​

  • Publications listed on ResearchGate
  • Research interests
  • Skills and expertise
  • Project descriptions
  • Recommendations

ResearchGate Sync​

  • Frequency: Weekly automatic sync
  • Manual Update: Available anytime
  • Conflict Resolution: Duplicates automatically merged

Linking PubMed​

For medical and life sciences researchers, link your PubMed author profile.

Prerequisites​

  • Publications in PubMed database
  • NCBI account (optional but recommended)

Linking Process​

  1. Go to Settings > External Profiles
  2. Find PubMed section
  3. Click Link PubMed
  4. Enter your Author Name as it appears in PubMed
  5. Add your Institutional Affiliation for verification
  6. Click Search and Link

Alternative: NCBI Account​

If you have an NCBI My Bibliography account:

  1. Click Link via NCBI
  2. Log in to your NCBI account
  3. Authorize ResearchConnectX
  4. Automatic linking complete

What Gets Imported​

  • PubMed-indexed publications
  • MeSH terms associated with your research
  • PubMed IDs (PMIDs)
  • PubMed Central (PMC) full-text articles

PubMed Sync​

  • Frequency: Weekly
  • Manual Search: Re-search anytime
  • New Publications: Detected automatically

Managing Multiple Linked Profiles​

View All Linked Accounts​

Go to Settings > External Profiles to see:

  • All currently linked accounts
  • Last sync date/time
  • Sync status (active, failed, pending)
  • Number of publications from each source

Sync Priority​

When publications appear in multiple sources:

  1. ORCID (most authoritative)
  2. PubMed (for medical research)
  3. Google Scholar (for citations)
  4. ResearchGate (supplementary)

Duplicate Management​

ResearchConnectX automatically:

  • Detects duplicate publications
  • Merges based on DOI or title
  • Combines citation counts
  • Preserves all source links

Unlinking External Profiles​

  • Changed research focus significantly
  • No longer want automatic updates
  • Profile ownership changed
  • Privacy concerns

Unlinking Process​

  1. Go to Settings > External Profiles
  2. Find the profile to unlink
  3. Click Unlink or Disconnect
  4. Confirm the action
warning

Unlinking will stop automatic publication updates but won't delete already-imported publications.

Retain Publications After Unlinking​

  • Imported publications remain in your ResearchConnectX profile
  • Manual updates required going forward
  • Can re-link anytime to resume sync

Troubleshooting​

  • Ensure you're using correct ORCID credentials
  • Check that your ORCID profile is public
  • Try unlinking and re-linking
  • Clear browser cache and cookies

Google Scholar Not Syncing​

  • Verify your profile is set to public
  • Check that URL is correct format
  • Ensure profile has publications
  • Wait 24 hours after linking for first sync

Publications Not Appearing​

  • Check sync status in External Profiles
  • Verify publications exist on source platform
  • Try manual sync/refresh
  • Check for duplicate detection

Verification Failed​

  • Confirm email matches across platforms
  • Ensure institutional affiliation is consistent
  • Contact support for manual verification
  • Provide alternative verification documents

Publication Import Settings​

Auto-Import Preferences​

Control what gets imported:

  1. Go to Settings > External Profiles > Import Preferences
  2. Choose options:
    • Import all publications (recommended)
    • Import only first-author publications
    • Import publications from specific years
    • Exclude pre-prints

Review Before Import​

  • Enable Manual Review mode
  • New publications appear in pending queue
  • Approve/reject before adding to profile
  • Useful for filtering irrelevant matches

Citation Update Frequency​

Choose how often citation counts update:

  • Real-time (may impact performance)
  • Daily (recommended)
  • Weekly
  • Manual only

Best Practices​

Keep Profiles Consistent​

  • Use same name format across platforms
  • Maintain consistent institutional affiliation
  • Update all profiles when changing institutions
  • Use ORCID as single source of truth

Regular Maintenance​

  • Check sync status monthly
  • Review imported publications for accuracy
  • Update external profiles first, then sync
  • Fix any duplicate entries

Privacy Considerations​

  • Review what data is shared during linking
  • Adjust privacy settings on source platforms
  • Understand sync frequency
  • Remember ResearchConnectX only accesses public data

Maximize Benefits​

  • Link all relevant platforms
  • Keep external profiles updated
  • Enable auto-sync
  • Use ORCID as primary identifier

Integration with AI Matching​

Linked external profiles improve matching by:

  • Providing comprehensive publication history
  • Analyzing research keywords from papers
  • Identifying collaboration patterns
  • Detecting emerging research topics
  • Suggesting complementary expertise

Data Privacy & Security​

What ResearchConnectX Stores​

  • Profile IDs from external platforms
  • Public profile information
  • Publication metadata
  • Citation counts
  • Publicly available metrics

What ResearchConnectX Doesn't Access​

  • Private messages or communications
  • Financial information
  • Non-public draft papers
  • Personal contact details marked private
  • Account passwords

Revoking Access​

To completely revoke ResearchConnectX access:

  1. Unlink in ResearchConnectX settings
  2. Visit the external platform
  3. Remove ResearchConnectX from authorized applications
  4. Revoke OAuth tokens if applicable

Next Steps​

After linking your external profiles: