Finding your publications in citation databases - Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar - can be more difficult than expected. Reasons why it can be difficult:

• you share your name with other researchers - does the algorithm used by the database disambiguate the authors correctly?
• you have used different names, for example your first name vs. your initials or your married vs. your maiden name
• you have a name that automatic indexing systems have difficulty processing - compound names, names with special characters and surnames with a prefix, such as 'van' or 'van der', can cause problems
• in the original publication your name was spelled incorrectly
• you published in a journal out of your normal 'scope' - this can make it hard for outsiders to decide if the publication is yours.

In the chapter Examples of name problems you can see some real-life examples.

You know what you have published, but for someone else it can be hard to make a list of your publications. If this list is needed to decide whether you're a suitable candidate for a research grant or research position, this can have unintended consequences.

However, there is a solution: claim your publications! Create or check author profiles, enrich them with information about your affiliation and interests, add your publications and keep them up-to-date.

The video What is ORCID? (4.17) explains how the ORCID identifier can ensure that your publications, datasets, and other research outputs are connected with you and how that saves time.