Establishing a Recognizable Research Identity in the Digital Age: Academic Branding.

The criteria for assessing researchers is no longer solely the volume of published work but the extent of their visibility and influence among peers at the international level. As such, researchers need to actively develop their professional identity or brand. Branding of a researcher's academic work or output is not mere publicity but rather strategically conveying a researcher’s competencies, accomplishments, and contributions. Through such identity, one’s colleagues, institution, or collaborators gain awareness about one's area of specialization and their contribution to the body of knowledge in that area. Building the identity begins with being consistent. A researcher who continuously contributes in a specific field is gradually known for his work in that particular area. Through the connection of the researcher’s name with a certain issue, method or innovation, their name becomes synonymous with that field and this can lead to increased trust from peers and institution alike. Digital media has proved very significant in building the identity. Profiles on academic networking sites, repositories of research works, and personal webpages offer an avenue for researchers to share their publications and research interests globally. An organized profile makes it easier for other researchers and academic institutions to identify one's profile and work. A citation index also closely reflects an academic identity. Research within an academic domain of a recognized authority is readily available, and subsequent researchers working on similar topics would easily cite such work. Hence, developing an academic profile can potentially foster increased citation in the long run. Communication also plays a significant role as an individual's ideas get better known when they are able to explain them concisely and clearly to one's peers, students, policy-makers and the industry. Writing papers, participating in media interactions, conferences, and even engaging with the public contribute significantly in a scholar’s reputation building. Networking internationally allows research to be seen by more people and thus has a greater influence; working with other researchers internationally is also a source of multi-disciplinary input and could thus produce better research work. A successful academic career should be based on a foundation laid over many years by the researcher and there is no short-cut to this. Building a good research identity also means working hard to present the work in the best possible light. As research becomes increasingly digitalized and globally interconnected, the researcher needs to balance scientific rigor with effective scholarly branding in order to enhance one’s citation index and at the same time have one's work make a wider impact on the academic world.

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