Scholarly Research Impact

• Maintain a consistent form of your name to help distinguish your research and published works from the work of others. E.g., Always using Henry Zhang, not intermixing H. Zhang and Henry Zhang in different papers. 
• Use an ORCID ID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) to help consolidate your publications under one persistent digital identifier. Some publishers and funders now require ORCID IDs as part of the submission process, and some online journals now publish ORCID IDs along with author name(s). 
• Set up a public Google Scholar profile to showcase your publications and track your citations. Sign into your Google account and Set Up Your Google Scholar Profile.  
• Use Belmont University as your affiliation for all publishing, journals, or grant agencies to ensure your research is credited to you and linked to the correct institution. 

Where you publish will affect your research visibility (how much it is read, cited, etc.). When evaluating potential publication outlets, consider the following questions:

• Where is the publication indexed, and is this index widely available/searchable?
• Will the publication be behind a paywall or restricted to subscribers only? 
• What is the current impact of the journal, and does this match with my expectations for my publication?
  • Take a look at the tabs related to journal metrics and journal rankings to understand the historical and current impact of potential publication outlets by using tools such as Scopus and Google Scholar. 

This guide on Journal Evaluation and Selection Tools also highlights tools and strategies to help with identifying and evaluating potential publication outlets.

Adding your work to a repository can make it easier to find, which can increase its impact. Many publishers allow you to add a version of your article to a repository such as the Belmont Digital Repository (BDR). The BDR is an open repository that can be searched directly and through search engines like Google (this means it has SEO in place and there are no restrictions to access). You can also add conference presentation slides and other types of documents. Be proactive during the publication process to retain your author rights and ensure you can distribute your research once it's published. More information about this is on the Open Access guide. 

Aren't sure if your work can be added to the BDR? Email claire.wiley@belmont.edu to check!  

Whether you're in the middle of a research project or have just published an article or a book, you can share and promote your research to connect with a wider audience. For example:

• Present preliminary findings at conferences.
• Use networking opportunities such as conferences to discuss your work and make new connections.
• Participate in media interviews about your research.
• Post about your research on social media.