Visibility of Scientific Production and Digital Identity of Researchers through Digital Technologies

Abstract

The research process does not end with the publication of the results; on the contrary, it has to continue even further, when results are disseminated and scientific disclosure on the Web begins. The purpose of this article is to promote visibility of the scientific production and digital identity of the faculty and researchers at the Universidad Técnica del Norte (Ibarra-Ecuador). By implementing a quantitative documentary, descriptive, and quasi-experimental comparative approach, it was possible to determine the importance of scientific visibility, the most suitable digital platforms for this task (ORCID, Google Scholar, Academia, ResearchGate, ResearcherID (WoS), Author ID (Scopus), Sciprofiles, Mendeley, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Impactstory), and the level of knowledge that professors have of these platforms. With the results, a pilot training-course was planned and implemented for researchers and university professors of the Faculty of Education Science and Technology, with the purpose of registering their author profiles and incorporating their scientific production onto the platforms with the greatest impact and visibility. The results from the two stages (pre-test and post-test) of the pilot course show a significant difference regarding the creation and management of the research profiles; therefore, this strategy puts forward an alternative way to make research and digital/identity visible in the academic, scientific and social community.