If your work is indexed in Scopus, you already have a free author profile, whether you have logged into it or not. The Scopus author search feature is the gateway to finding that profile, understanding how Scopus groups your publications, and making sure your research outputs are correctly represented.
In this guide, you will see what Scopus author search is, how free author profiles are created, what you can and cannot control, and how to use the tool strategically for your career, your curriculum vitae, and your institutional reporting.
All of the most important information about Scopus author search and free profiles is in the first sections below so that you can quickly understand what matters and act on it.
Before diving into the details, here are the essentials about Scopus author search and free author profiles:
Every indexed author gets a free profile
If you have published at least one article in a Scopus indexed journal, conference, or book series, Scopus automatically creates an author profile for you.You do not need a paid subscription to see your own profile
Full database access usually requires institutional or personal subscription, but you can still use Scopus author search to locate and view author profiles that are visible through the public interface.Profiles are algorithmically generated
Scopus uses your name, affiliation, subject area, co authors, and other metadata to cluster publications under a specific author identification number. This can sometimes lead to split or mixed profiles, which you can request to fix.You can request corrections and merges
Using tools linked from your author page, you can ask Scopus to merge duplicate profiles, correct your affiliation, or adjust publication lists that appear in Scopus author search.Your profile matters for metrics and visibility
Many institutions, funders, and ranking systems rely on Scopus data and author identification numbers, which means your presence in Scopus author search can influence how your impact is measured and perceived.
Keep these points in mind as you read the rest of this guide. They are the foundation for understanding how Scopus author search and free author profiles actually work in practice.
Scopus author search is a discovery and identity tool for researchers. Scopus tracks millions of authors across disciplines, and the search interface allows users to:
Find a specific author’s profile
See all documents associated with that author identification number
Check citation metrics such as h index, citation counts, and co author networks
Confirm affiliations, subject areas, and sometimes research topics
Unlike a simple name search on the open web, Scopus author search is designed to handle the messy reality of academic names: homonyms, name changes, initials, diacritics, and variations in how names appear across publications.
When you use Scopus author search, you are searching a structured author database. Each author is assigned a unique Scopus Author Identification Number that ties their publications together. This is why Scopus author search is so important for research evaluation, discovery, and reporting.
One of the most important aspects of Scopus author search is that you do not have to sign up to get a profile. Scopus builds it for you automatically based on indexed content.
When a paper is indexed in Scopus, the system extracts:
Author names
Affiliations
Subject categories
Co authors
References and citations
Using this information, Scopus tries to assign each paper’s authors to existing profiles or to create new ones. This process is what makes Scopus author search powerful, but it is also why issues such as duplicate or mixed profiles can occur, especially for common names.
Every profile that you see through Scopus author search is linked to a numerical Scopus Author Identification Number. This number:
Groups publications that Scopus believes belong to the same author
Powers author level metrics such as h index, citation counts, and publication counts
Can be exported, referenced in curriculum vitae, institutional systems, and grant applications
If you find multiple entries for yourself in Scopus author search, it usually means you have more than one Scopus Author Identification Number. That situation can dilute your metrics and make your record look smaller or more fragmented than it really is.
The author profile itself is free. You do not pay to be indexed. You do not pay for your Scopus author search entry. You do not pay to request corrections or merges. Access to full text articles still depends on subscriptions, but your author profile is part of the core metadata that Scopus provides to support research analytics, discovery, and evaluation.
Here is a straightforward way to use Scopus author search to find, verify, and manage your profile.
Step 1: Go to the Scopus website
Visit the Scopus site through your institution or through the public access page. Even without a subscription, you can usually access at least basic information via Scopus author search.
On the main search screen, look for the tab or link labeled “Author Search” that takes you to Scopus author search.
Step 2: Search by name and affiliation
Enter some combination of:
Your last name and initials
Your full first name and last name
Your current or past affiliation
Your country or subject area if the interface allows these filters
Using the filters that are built into Scopus author search helps you narrow down results, especially if you have a common or frequently occurring name.
Step 3: Identify the correct profile or profiles
Scopus will show you one or more author entries that match the information you typed into Scopus author search. Each entry usually lists:
Author name
Known affiliations
Subject area or areas
Number of documents and citations
If you see multiple entries that look like they might be you, click into each profile. Scopus author search sometimes splits your work into separate profiles when:
Your name is spelled differently across publications
You have changed institutions, countries, or departments
You publish in different subject areas that confuse the algorithm
Make a note of all profiles that clearly belong to you. This will be important for merge requests.
Step 4: Review your publication list
Open each candidate profile that you found through Scopus author search and check the publication list carefully:
Are any of your papers missing from this profile?
Are there papers that do not belong to you?
Are the co authors and affiliations accurate and familiar?
This is your chance to confirm that Scopus author search has correctly grouped your work under a single, coherent profile.
Step 5: Check your metrics and identifiers
Within your profile, you will usually see:
Total number of documents indexed in Scopus
Total citations and h index within the Scopus database
Subject area breakdown
Co author network and collaboration patterns
These metrics depend entirely on how accurate your Scopus author search profile is. If your publications are split across several profiles, your h index and total citation count will appear artificially low. That is a strong reason to keep your Scopus author search record updated.
Because profiles are generated by algorithms, some manual cleanup is often necessary. Scopus author search gives you tools to request these changes.
Merging duplicate profiles
If Scopus author search shows multiple profiles that clearly refer to you:
Open one of your correct profiles.
Look for a link or button labeled something like “Request to merge authors,” “Author feedback,” or similar language.
Provide details of all the Scopus Author Identification Numbers that belong to you and should be merged.
Confirm which publications belong to your unified profile and which do not.
After you submit the request, the Scopus team will review it and apply corrections. Once processed, your Scopus author search results should show a single consolidated profile with corrected metrics that reflect your true output.
Correcting name variants and affiliations
You might notice spelling variants, missing middle initials, old affiliations, or incomplete data. From your profile in Scopus author search, use the feedback or correction tools to:
Fix your name format, including initials and diacritics
Update or remove outdated affiliations
Add identifiers such as ORCID where the interface allows that link
Keeping this information clean helps the Scopus author search algorithms correctly assign future publications to your profile and reduces the likelihood of new duplicate profiles.
Removing publications that are not yours
If the system has mistakenly grouped another researcher’s paper under your profile, this can skew your metrics and confuse readers who use Scopus author search. Use the correction request interface to flag these documents and have them removed from your record. Make clear notes about why they are not yours, such as different field, different institution, or completely different co author network.
You might be wondering whether it is worth your time to engage with Scopus author search at all. In many academic and professional contexts, the answer is yes.
1. Visibility in your research community
When colleagues, potential collaborators, or reviewers use Scopus author search to look you up, your profile is often one of the first structured representations of your work that they see. A clean, accurate profile:
Shows your core research areas at a glance
Highlights your key outputs and collaborations
Demonstrates continuity across institutions, years, and projects
In many disciplines, people will look at your Scopus author search profile before they contact you or invite you to collaborate.
2. Institutional reporting and rankings
Many universities and research organizations rely on Scopus data to:
Track publication output at individual and departmental levels
Calculate internal performance metrics
Contribute data to global rankings and benchmarking exercises
If Scopus author search splits your work across multiple profiles or misassigns your publications, your contributions may be undercounted in these systems. That can affect both your own evaluation and the visibility of your research unit.
3. Grant applications and curriculum vitae
Funders and hiring committees often cross check applications against bibliometric databases. Sharing your Scopus author search profile link or Scopus Author Identification Number:
Makes it easier for evaluators to verify your record
Demonstrates that your work appears in recognized, indexed outlets
Aligns with common reporting formats used by institutions and national evaluation systems
An accurate and up to date Scopus author search record can save you time and questions during review processes.
4. Collaboration and networking
Researchers exploring new collaborations frequently use Scopus author search to identify experts in specific topic areas, based on subject categories, citation impact, and publication history. A well maintained profile increases your chances of being found, trusted, and contacted.
Limitations And Common Misconceptions
Scopus author search is powerful, but it is not perfect. Understanding its limits will help you use it more intelligently and avoid over interpreting the numbers.
Limitation 1: Coverage is not universal
Scopus does not index every journal, conference, or monograph in existence. If a significant portion of your work is in non indexed venues, Scopus author search will show only a partial snapshot of your output. It is often very strong in some disciplines and more limited in others.
Limitation 2: Metrics are database dependent
Your h index in Scopus author search will not match your h index in Google Scholar, Web of Science, or other platforms. Each system uses its own coverage, sources, and rules, so:
Treat the metrics from Scopus author search as one data point among several
Avoid comparing numbers across databases as if they were directly equivalent
It is more meaningful to compare your Scopus author search metrics with those of peers in your field who are using the same database.
Limitation 3: Name and affiliation errors
Even with sophisticated algorithms, Scopus author search can misassign papers, especially when:
Many authors share similar or identical names
Affiliations change frequently and are reported inconsistently
Co author networks overlap across institutions or decades
This is why your periodic review and feedback are part of keeping the Scopus author search ecosystem accurate and fair.
Misconception: You have to pay to have a profile
One of the biggest misconceptions about Scopus author search is that authors must pay to appear or to correct their profiles. You do not pay to be included, and you do not pay to request corrections. The commercial model behind Scopus is based on access to the database, not on charging individual authors to manage their presence.
Best Practices To Optimize Your Scopus Presence
If you want to use Scopus author search strategically, a small amount of ongoing maintenance can have a big impact.
1. Check your profile at least once a year
Make it a routine:
Search your name using Scopus author search
Confirm that your latest papers are included and assigned correctly
Look for duplicate profiles or incorrect documents
This quick annual audit prevents small errors from turning into major issues that affect metrics and evaluations.
You can make life easier for the Scopus author search algorithms by being consistent:
Use the same preferred form of your name across submissions
Include your ORCID identification number if the journal supports it
Use a standardized version of your institutional affiliation
When journals and publishers report consistent metadata, Scopus author search is more accurate and generates fewer duplicate profiles.
3. Link your Scopus profile with other identifiers where possible
Some systems allow you to link your Scopus author search profile or Scopus Author Identification Number to:
ORCID
Institutional repositories
University research information systems
Personal web pages or academic profile pages
These links help reduce confusion and ensure that different systems refer to the same underlying author identity.
4. Monitor how your work is cited
Because Scopus author search also surfaces citation data, you can:
See which papers are cited most frequently and by whom
Identify patterns in how your work is used in different fields
Spot potential collaborators who cite similar work or build on your findings
Citation patterns visible through Scopus author search provide context for your impact beyond a single number such as the h index.
No single platform tells the whole story. Use Scopus author search together with:
ORCID for identity management
Google Scholar for broad coverage
Web of Science for another curated perspective
Institutional systems for local reporting
Together, these tools create a more complete picture of your research presence.
You might already be using platforms such as Google Scholar, ORCID, Web of Science, ResearchGate, or institutional profiles. Here is how Scopus author search fits into that landscape.
Compared with Google Scholar
Google Scholar offers very broad coverage, including non peer reviewed sources, theses, preprints, and many documents that are not part of formal indexing.
Scopus author search provides more curated coverage, focusing on selected journals, conferences, and books that meet specific inclusion criteria.
Google Scholar profiles are author maintained and flexible. Scopus author search profiles are system generated and centrally controlled, with a formal correction process rather than manual editing.
Compared with Web of Science
Both Scopus and Web of Science are curated citation databases with author search tools. Coverage differs by discipline, region, and publisher. Many researchers monitor both and use Scopus author search as one of several reference points for metrics and discovery.
Compared with ORCID
ORCID is an open identifier system that you control directly. You decide what appears on your ORCID record. Scopus author search is part of a commercial database. Your Scopus profile exists whether you manage it or not, but you can request corrections and merges.
In practice, many researchers:
Maintain ORCID as their main identity record
Use Scopus author search and similar tools as data sources that institutions and analytics providers rely on
Practical Tips For Different Types Of Users
Different people interact with Scopus author search in different ways.
Early career researchers
If you are just starting out:
Use Scopus author search to check that your first publications are correctly grouped under one profile.
Fix duplicate profiles early, before you accumulate many documents.
Include your Scopus Author Identification Number on your curriculum vitae, personal website, or email signature once your profile looks accurate.
This helps establish a clean record that will scale well as your career grows.
Established researchers
With a longer publication history:
Use Scopus author search to audit your full output across decades.
Merge old and new profiles that may have been created when you changed institutions, name formats, or countries.
Check how your citation patterns have evolved over time and across subject areas.
For senior researchers, an accurate Scopus author search record can be especially important for leadership roles, awards, and major grants.
Research managers and administrators
If you oversee departments, institutes, or research offices:
Use Scopus author search to verify staff profiles and identify obvious errors.
Encourage researchers to review and clean their own profiles on a regular schedule.
Export standardized data using Scopus Author Identification Numbers for internal reporting, dashboards, and evaluation processes.
This ensures that institutional decisions based on Scopus data rest on accurate, up to date information.
Here are some frequently asked questions that come up around Scopus author search and author profiles.
1. Do I need to register to have a profile?
No. If your work is indexed in Scopus, your profile is created automatically. You only need to interact with Scopus author search when you want to view, verify, or correct your profile.
2. Can I access my profile without a Scopus subscription?
Yes, with some limitations. You can usually use Scopus author search through the public interface to look up basic author information and metrics. However, deeper analytics, advanced filtering, or full access to documents may require institutional or personal access.
3. How long does it take for new publications to appear?
There is often a delay between publication and indexing. After your paper is indexed in Scopus, Scopus author search still needs to assign it to the correct profile. This usually happens automatically, but sometimes a paper is misassigned or left unlinked, which is why periodic checks are useful.
4. What if my name has changed?
Name changes are a common challenge for Scopus author search. You may end up with separate profiles under different names. Use the merge request tools to bring them together, and clearly indicate that both names belong to the same person. Provide evidence if requested.
5. Is my h index in Scopus the “official” one?
There is no single official h index. The value you see in Scopus author search is valid within the Scopus database only. Other databases will show different values. Treat it as one useful indicator, not as a universal truth.
Bringing It All Together
To sum up, Scopus author search is more than a way to look up your name. It is the front door to a structured, automatically generated author profile that reflects how a major citation database sees your career. Because Scopus creates and maintains these profiles for free for all indexed authors, you already have a digital presence there, even if you have never opened it.
By:
Searching for yourself through Scopus author search
Identifying and merging duplicate profiles
Correcting name, affiliation, and publication details
Periodically reviewing your metrics and publication list
you can ensure that your record is accurate, your impact is correctly represented, and your work is easier to discover and assess.
In a research environment that increasingly relies on data driven evaluation, taking a small amount of time to understand and use Scopus author search is a simple but powerful way to take control of how your research is seen and counted.
If you want to stay ahead of new citations and fresh papers in your field, I recommend that you also read my guide on how to set up and use Google Scholar Alerts effectively.
