- Introduction
- Help
- Search Colorado PROFILES
- View a Colorado PROFILE
- Manage your Colorado PROFILE
- Manage your Publications
Introduction
What is PROFILES RNS and Colorado PROFILES?
Colorado PROFILES is the University of Colorado's customized version of the Harvard PROFILES RNS software. Successful biomedical research requires collaboration, with investigators bringing the respective strengths of different fields and backgrounds to bear on a question or problem. The "Colorado PROFILES" search engine for biomedical research expertise and networking provides tools to help investigators and students find experts, potential collaborators or mentors, and to view past and present research networking of our investigators.
PROFILES RNS is a research networking and expertise mining software tool. It not only shows traditional directory information, but also illustrates how each person is connected to others in the broad research community. This foundation software was developed under the supervision of Griffin M Weber, MD, PhD, with support from Grant Number 1 UL1 RR025758-01 to Harvard Catalyst: The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center from the National Center for Research Resources and support from Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers.
[Top]
What information is included in Colorado PROFILES
When you view a profile in Colorado PROFILES, four types of information are displayed:
- Directory Information
This is the typical directory information listed in a profile, including name, title, institution, department, address, phone number and email address. Directory Information is updated bi-monthly from the University of Colorado's Human Resources system. Users need to request modification of this information by their department HR administrator. Directory Information is shown in the center panel of the page when viewing a profile. - Managed Descriptions
This is customized information managed by each user or their proxy, including a photo, biography (awards/honors), overview narrative, and bibliographic with publications. Managed Descriptions are updated within 72 hours of modification by the user or their proxy. Managed Descriptions are shown in the center panel of the page when viewing a profile. - Active Networks
Active Networks are defined by each user or their proxy. When users login to Colorado PROFILES, they can view other people's profiles and mark those people as collaborators, advisors, or advisees. In other words, you can build your own network of people that you know. Currently, you can only view details for networks that you build. In the future you will be able to share these lists with others. Active Networks are shown in the left panel of the page when viewing a profile, under your Networks. - Passive Networks
Passive Networks are formed automatically when users share common traits such as being in the same department or building, co-authoring the same paper, or researching the same topics (as defined by "MeSH" keywords or other keywords assigned to their publications). Passive Networks are shown in the right panel of the page when viewing a profile.
[Top]
Who is included in Colorado PROFILES?
Colorado PROFILES primarily includes faculty, investigators, and research and clinical staff from University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado Springs, Anschutz Medical Campus and Denver). If you are not listed and would like to be - or you would like a person to be added so you can designate them as your proxy - please contact profiles@ucdenver.edu
[Top]
Can you remove yourself from Colorado PROFILES?
Users can be removed from the Colorado PROFILES database under certain circumstances. Please contact profiles@ucdenver.edu for more information.
[Top]
Help
How can you receive training in using Colorado PROFILES?
A number of self-service training sessions have been prepared to assist users of Colorado PROFILES. The topics include an introduction and overview of Colorado PROFILES, how to login and edit a profile, a specific tutorial on publication management, and how to use passive networks. Tutorials are in .pdf format and can be viewed at the top of this page.
[Top]
What do you do if you have additional questions?
Additional questions can be emailed to: profiles@ucdenver.edu
[Top]
Search Colorado PROFILES
How do you search in Colorado PROFILES?
You can search in Colorado PROFILES for People or Research from the main menu on the left side of any page.
"Find People" will allow you to search for the profiles of Colorado PROFILE users by keywords in publications, or basic demographic information including name, institution, department or faculty type. A list of users matching the search criteria will be displayed by name and institution with a “Why?” link that will direct you to more information about why that person meet the search criteria.
"Find Research" will allow you search on a broader scale by keyword in ALL sections of a profile, including awards and honors, overview narrative, and publications. A list of items matching the search criteria will be displayed with type of item (person, award, department, article, concept) and a “Why?” link that will direct you to more information about why that item meet the search criteria.
[Top]
Do you have to log in to do a search?
No - the main page will allow anyone to search for People or Research based on specified search criteria.
[Top]
How are search results ordered?
When searching by Keyword, Colorado PROFILES returns profiles with the strongest match to that keyword. The strength of this match is determined by the following factors:
- The number of publications
- Major/Minor keywords
- Your place in the author order
- Year published
A profile with a stronger score will rank higher in the results.
When searching by criteria other than Keyword, results will be ordered by number of publications, with profiles with more publications appearing at the top of the results list.
[Top]
What does "Why" mean in your search results?
Results from a keyword search will display with "Why" hyperlinks to the right of a matches listing. This link will direct you to more information about why a person or item meets the search criteria.
[Top]
View a Colorado PROFILE
Where does the demographic and publication information come from?
Directory demographics are obtained from the UC Human Resources system, and publications and keywords were imported from PubMed. Lists of co-authors and similar people are derived automatically from publications, and the department and neighbor lists are derived automatically from directory information.
[Top]
How often is Colorado PROFILES updated?
Directory Information elements - name, titles, institution, and contact information - are updated bimonthly into Colorado PROFILES from the UC Human Resources system. Only department HR administrators can modify the Directory Information that flows into Colorado PROFILES.
Managed Description elements - keywords, co-authors, similar people, and publications - are updated within 72 hours of modification of related publication data by users or their proxies. Users or proxies can edit a Colorado PROFILE at any time.
[Top]
Where do 'concepts' come from?
Concepts are a passive network derived automatically from the PubMed articles listed in an individual profile, and are updated within 72 hours of modification of related publication data by users or their proxies. Concepts are listed in the right panel of a user’s profile, and you can ‘see’ visualizations of all your concepts in cloud, category, timeline and detail format. Detailed instructions on navigating Concept Networks are included in the tutorial “Passive Networks”.
[Top]
Where do 'co-authors' come from?
Co-authors are passive networks derived automatically from publications, and are updated within 72 hours of modification of related publication data by users or their proxies. Co-Authors are listed in the right panel of a user’s profile, and you can ‘see’ visualizations of all your co-authors in list, map, radial, cluster, timeline and detail format. Detailed instructions on navigating Co-Author Networks are included in the tutorial “Passive Networks”.
[Top]
Why doesn't the Co-Authors Network View display on your iPad?
The co-author network view is designed to be viewed using Flash player. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, iPads do not have the ability to view programs using Flash. To use this network view, you will need to access Colorado PROFILES via a desktop or notebook computer.
[Top]
Where do 'same department' and 'physical neighbors' come from?
Same department and physical neighbors are passive networks derived automatically from Directory Information, and are updated bimonthly from the UC Human Resources system. Physical neighbors are determined based on a combination of geographic location and total number of publications.
[Top]
Manage your Colorado PROFILE
Why is your profile not listed in Colorado PROFILES?
Colorado PROFILES primarily includes faculty, investigators, and research and clinical staff from the Boulder, Colorado Springs, Anschutz Medical and Denver campuses of the University of Colorado. If you are not listed and would like to be - or you would like a person to be added so you can designate them as your proxy - please contact profiles@ucdenver.edu
[Top]
How do you login to Colorado PROFILES?
To facilitate access to Colorado PROFILES across the University, the system will utilize the same UC Denver and UC Boulder email and password information utilized by users to access email services.
- Users with a UC Denver email (ucdenver.edu) or UC Boulder email (colorado.edu) can login to edit their profile by clicking the "Login To PROFILES" link located in the left panel under Menu. The Colorado PROFILES Helpdesk does not have access to your email or password. Users who do not know their UC Denver or UC Boulder email or password may contact the IT department at their specific institution for assistance..
- Affiliate users with Person of Interest (POI) access can also login to edit their profile by clicking the "Login To PROFILES" link located in the left panel under Menu. The Colorado PROFILES Helpdesk does not have access to your email or password. Affiliates who do not know their POI access information may contact the issuing department for assistance.
At this time, only users/proxies/POIs with a UC Denver or UC Boulder email address and password can login to edit a Colorado PROFILE.
[Top]
How do you edit your Colorado PROFILE?
Users or their proxies must Login to Colorado PROFILES before modifications can be made to a profile. Tutorials can be accessed from the Menu in the top panel on topics: How to Login, Edit Your Colorado PROFILE, and Maintain Your Publications.
- To edit a profile, click the Edit My Profile link on the left panel. You will be prompted to login if you have not already done so.
- A profile is divided into four elements: directory information, managed descriptions (photo, biography with awards/honors, overview narrative and bibliographic with publications), active networks (my networks) and passive networks (concepts, co-authors and similar people, same department and physical neighbors).
- Directory Information is updated bi-monthly from the University of Colorado’s Human Resources system. Users need to request modification of this information by their department HR administrator.
- Managed Descriptions are updated within 72 hours of modification by users or their proxies.
- You can upload a custom photo and also edit the content in the biography, overview narrative and publications sections.
- You cannot edit publication MESH keywords directly, but you can improve these lists by keeping your publications current. Keywords are derived automatically from the PubMed articles listed with your profile. Note: Your list of keywords and co-authors will not immediate change after you modify publications, but will be updated automatically by Colorado PROFILES within 72 hours.
- You can include searchable words and in your biography and overview narrative sections.
- Contact profiles@ucdenver.edu if you have questions about editing your Colorado PROFILE.
At this time, only users, proxies or POIs with a UC Denver or UC Boulder email and password can login to edit their Colorado PROFILE.
[Top]
What if you want to change your contact or location information?
Requests to change to this data must be directed to your department Human Resources representative, as Colorado PROFILES imports personnel data directly from this system.
Changes made in Colorado PROFILES system will NOT be exported to the UC Human Resources system.
Many employees still have older address listed in their HR record (For example: 9th & Colorado). HR is currently in the process of updating these records.
[Top]
Can you change your top 5 keywords?
No - the top 5 MESH publication keywords are automatically generated from your publications. An algorithm calculates a weight for each of your keywords using the following factors:
- The number of publications
- Major/Minor keywords
- Your place in the author order
- Year published
Your top 5 MESH publication keywords are those with the highest calculated weight and can change over time based on your current publications.
[Top]
Can someone else edit your Colorado PROFILE?
Yes - but only those you specifically designate as a proxy to make changes to your Colorado PROFILE. A proxy user is someone who has permission to edit a Colorado PROFILE, such as an administrator or research assistant. In order to prevent unauthorized people from editing your Colorado PROFILE, you must set up your Colorado PROFILE to allow edit control access for a proxy.
[Top]
How do you add a proxy to edit your Colorado PROFILE?
- Once logged in to Colorado PROFILES, click "Manage Proxies" found under Menu in the left panel.
- Click the "Add a proxy" link under the list of "Users who can edit your profile".
- Search for a proxy by last name, first name, institution, or department.
- Click the desired person's name to add them as a proxy for your Colorado PROFILE.
- If you cannot locate the person you wish to name as a proxy, contact profiles@ucdenver.edu with the name and department of that person for entry into the Colorado PROFILES system. You will be notified once that entry is completed so you can proceed with the proxy setup process.
[Top]
How do you remove a proxy?
- Once logged in to Colorado PROFILES, click "Manage Proxies" found under Menu in the left panel.
- All of your currently assigned proxies will display in list form under “Users who can edit your profile”.
- Each proxy listing has a Delete ‘trash can’ symbol to the right of their name.
- Clicking the ‘trash can’ symbol will remove that person from your list of proxies.
[Top]
Manage your Publications
What if there is a publication that isn't really yours?
Publications are added both automatically from PubMed and manually by users or their proxies. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to match articles in PubMed to the Colorado PROFILES on this website. The algorithm used to find articles from PubMed attempts to minimize the number of publications incorrectly added to a Colorado PROFILE. All users are encouraged to login to the website and add any missing publications or remove incorrect ones. Manually updating publications may improve future automatic publication updates.
[Top]
How do you remove publications?
Once logged into Colorado PROFILES, select "Edit my Profile" from the Menu in the left panel. From the displayed Edit Menu, select the line “selected publications” to access the publications editing list. Each publication has a ‘trash can’ symbol to the right or the listing, and clicking this symbol will delete that specific publication.
Users can also remove an entire class of publication by clicking the Delete option directly above the list of Publications. This will allow you to delete only PubMed citations, delete only custom citations (ones that you manually added), or delete all citations (PubMed + Custom).
[Top]
What if there are publications missing?
Publications are added both automatically from PubMed and manually by users or their proxies. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to match articles in PubMed to the Colorado PROFILES on this website. The algorithm used to find articles from PubMed attempts to minimize the number of publications incorrectly added to a Colorado PROFILE; however, this method results in some missing publications.
Users with common names, those who publish using names not matching the UC Human Resources system (nicknames, middle names, etc.) or those whose names have changed are most likely to have incomplete publication lists. In addition, articles written at institutions other than UC Denver may not be listed. All users are encouraged to login to the website and add any missing publications or remove incorrect ones. Manually updating publications may improve future automatic publication updates.
Publications also must have a PubMed status of "in process" in order to be automatically added to a Colorado PROFILE - status is part of the information supplied by PubMed with the results of a PubMed query. Publications with status of "in data review" or "ahead of print" will not be automatically added to your Colorado PROFILE until PubMed changes the status to "in process".
Adding publications to Colorado PROFILES will not update your publications in other faculty databases (i.e. Domino, FIDO, etc.). We are currently reviewing the possibility of synchronizing publication information between the various applications.
[Top]
How do you add publications?
Once you've logged into Colorado PROFILES select the "Edit My PROFILE" from the Menu in the left panel. From the displayed Edit Menu, select the line “selected publications” to access the publications editing list. There are three options to add publications
- Add PubMed – this will allow a user to search in PubMed or enter a search string customized by the user in PubMed.
- Add by ID – this allows a list of PubMed IDs to be entered(make sure to separate with a comma)
- Add Custom – this option allows you to enter any publication you would like that is not already part of PubMed.
Adding publications to Colorado PROFILES will not update your publications in other faculty databases (i.e. Domino, FIDO, etc.). We are currently reviewing the possibility of synchronizing publication information between the various applications.
[Top]