Welcome to your online version of Boost TU, this page is designed to be used as a checklist and guide to help you Prepare, Publish and Promote scholarly communications from your research. Click on the tabs below to access each stage of Boosting your research.
ACT NOW
RAISE YOUR DIGITAL PROFILE
Check your author profile in Scopus. Are the correct publications attributed to you? Are your publications split between duplicate profiles? Go to Scopus.com
Create a Google Scholar profile.
PREPARING PUBLICATIONS
Form a reading club with colleagues to get constructive feedback on your outputs from your colleagues before submission.
VARY YOUR OUTPUTS
Different output types accrue citations at different rates. Consider writing a review or perspective paper.
Consider provocative debate pieces, inputs into policy, and if appropriate for your field, multi-author surveys.
If appropriate for your discipline, and not considered as prior publication by your chosen journal, post your manuscript to a pre-print server such as arXiv, bioRxiv, Peer J Preprints or SSRN. Further information on preprints can be found on our Preprint guide..
CITE YOURSELF (when appropriate and in moderation)
Always cite your own work correctly, preferably using the DOI if one was assigned.
Self-citations can be excluded from citation indices but can also advertise your previous relevant work to others.
Research has shown that there is a gender difference in self-citation by authors with women not self-citing as often as men: it is important to remember that self-citation is ok when appropriate and in moderation.
Cite your colleagues if appropriate.
WRITE CLEAR TITLES AND ABSTRACTS
Think what keywords/phrases your audience might search for.
Use keywords and phrases in the title, and repeatedly in the abstract.
COLLABORATE
Co-authors from other countries or institutions can give a citation advantage (check it out in SciVal).
Explore opportunities to collaborate across disciplines thereby tapping into multiple citation networks.
Articles with two authors double citation, on average.
Boost TU has been adapted from ‘Boost’ by the University of Reading (www.reading.ac.uk/BOOST) used under CC BY-SA. 
SHARE YOUR DATA AND RESEARCH MATERIALSShare your supporting data and other materials, such as software code, using a data repository. Research data should be stored on the TU Research Data Repository or, when required by an external funder, a record should be created in the University's Research Portal with a link to a suitable external repository.
Cite and link to the data from your publication using a DOI or other unique identifier.
Advice and assistance on sharing data is available at https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/researchers/RDM or by contacting researchportal@tees.ac.uk.
Your affiliation must be 'Teesside University’ and this should always be included, along with any departmental or other affiliation.
Always use the same format for your names and initials on every output.
You must use your University email name@tees.ac.uk
Use your ORCID iD when you submit your manuscript.
Make sure your journal permits Gold or Green Open Access. Teesside University policy is for Green Open Access as the preferred route.
Make sure you know your funder's requirements on Open Access publishing.
Do your homework before submitting to a journal -visit: thinkchecksubmit.org
Find a journal with the right audience - do you read it and cite it? Do your peers and competitors publish in it?
Check journal metrics with Scopus, SciVal, Scimago, InCities Journal Citation Reports and Google Scholar.
Make sure the journal / platform will issue a DOI or other unique identifier for your publication.
If possible publish in a journal that is indexed by Scopus.
Choose journals with faster publications times. Contact the journal's Editorial office for information. Do not forget about thinkchecksubmit.org.
Choose a journal that publishes online ahead of print, rather than waiting for the publication of the print edition.
NON-JOURNAL OUTPUTS
Book chapters and conference proceeding often have poor online visibility. Choose a publisher with an online presence.
Avoid submitting outputs that will not be given DOIs.
There are an increasing number of digital identifiers that can be applied to non-journal and non-traditional outputs, including DOIs. Investigate these possibilities.
AFTER ACCEPTANCE
ARCHIVING
Upload to appropriate repositories, including TeesRep, making note of any funder requirements.
Upload permitted versions to Academia.edu, ResearchGate or Mendeley and tag with keywords.
Send PDFs of your article to your peer network if allowed by publisher- don't assume they will see it in a journal.
Use shareable links provided by the publisher to disseminate your paper to your peers.
Include links to your latest publications in your email signature.
Link your works in TeesRep to your University staff webpage to increase visibility.
Use social media to drive traffic to your publications. Post on Facebook, Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Linkedln etc.
Blog about your research to encourage ongoing discussion, record a podcast, make a video, or design an infographic.
Find links with current news stories - contact the University Communications and Development team on communications@tees.ac.uk as soon as a news story emerges.
Edit relevant Wikipedia pages, inserting text and references to your research.
Promote associated outputs such as research data or software code. Cite them by DOI or other unique identifier.
Consider organising a conference for major outputs.
TRACKING ATTENTION AND IMPACT
Track alternative metrics using Plum Analytics, which is integrated into TeesRep as well as Scopus and other sites.
Track citations to your paper via Google Scholar, Overton, Web of Science, Dimensions or Scopus. If someone is citing you, they may be interested in your next paper.