How researchers manage their academic activities

Abstract

Most of the researchers collaborating with different institutions and involved in a number of international projects would be happy to have only one place where information about their academic activity could be stored, and everyone around the world could check it in a transparent way. In mid-2013 to early 2014, an online survey of researchers was conducted, and 8,554 fully completed questionnaires were analysed. The respondents represent all age and experience groups, fields of science, and continents in different proportions. The aim of this article is to discuss the topics touched upon in the survey: methods and software used by researchers to manage the list of their activities; outputs recorded by researchers, institutions, and the outputs which should not be part of an academic record according to the respondents; whom researchers entrust with the management of their public profile and the most important attributes that could make an author identification and academic record storage system attractive for researchers.