Due to common researcher names, name changes, cultural differences in name order, and inconsistent use of middle initials, it can be difficult to accurately calculate measures of personal impact. Numeric codes can help identify individual researchers:

• ORCID- An open, non-profit, research community-led initiative that provides a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. You will have to register for an ORCID I.D. number.
• ResearcherID is the identifier that has been implemented by Thomson Reuters, the company that develops Web of Science. Having a ResearcherID makes it easy for researchers to input all their publications into Web of Science.  ResearcherID is working with ORCID. You can search ResearcherID to find collaborators, review publication lists and explore how research is used around the world.