The Role of Ego in Academic Profile Services: Comparing Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Mendeley, and ResearcherID

Abstract

Academic profiling services are a pervasive feature of scholarly life. Alberto Martin-Martin, Enrique Orduna-Malea and Emilio Delgado Lopez-Cozar discuss the advantages and disadvantages of major profile platforms and look at the role of ego in how these services are built and used. Scholars validate these services by using them and should be aware that the portraits shown in these platforms depend to a great extent on the characteristics of the “mirrors” themselves.