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1: Biomed Digit Libr. 2005 Mar 22;2(1):1.Click here to read Click here to read Links

Do we need a Unique Scientist ID for publications in biomedicine?

Bohne-Lang A, Lang E.

German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg, Central Spectroscopy – Molecular Modeling, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. a.bohne@dkfz-heidelberg.de.

BACKGROUND: The PubMed database contains nearly 15 million references from more than 4,800 biomedical journals. In general, authors of scientific articles are addressed by their last name and forename initial. DISCUSSION: In general, names can be too common and not unique enough to be search criteria. Today, Ph.D. students, other researchers and women publish scientific work. A person may not only have one name but several names and publish under each name. A Unique Scientist ID could help to address people in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. As a starting point, perhaps PubMed could generate and manage such a scientist ID. SUMMARY: A Unique Scientist ID would improve knowledge management in science. Unfortunately in some of the publications, and then within the online databases, only one letter abbreviates the author's forename. A common name with only one initial could retrieve pertinent citations, but include many false drops (retrieval matching searched criteria but indisputably irrelevant).

PMID: 15784146 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

PMCID: PMC1079791