Symplectic Elements – what is it?:
This is the publications and activities database used by Imperial College London which will also be used for generating publication reports for the mock REF exercise.
Accessing:
You can find it at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/symplecticelements/ – you can login with your usual College login information.
This system automatically searches the PubMed and Web Of Science online publications directories based on your unique search settings. The automated searches take place at around 1:00am each morning and you will be automatically emailed once any publications have been found for you.
Your responsibility:
You MUST review any pending publications: decline those that are not yours and approve the ones that are. If you do not do this, the publications WILL NOT be returned in the reports being generated for the REF preparation process.
Finding and amending your Search Settings:
Once logged in, click My Elements – Publications – Search Settings.
You MUST include the exact name variants under which you publish. If you have a common name, you might want to include some address or keyword information. Any changes made to the search settings must be saved for them to take effect during the next automated search (around 1:00am the following day).
Adding Publications via their ID
You can explicitly add the online ID for a publication if it is not returned in automated searches. This can be added through the search settings and choosing which online publication directory the ID relates to. Make sure you click the + icon to add the ID to the list to be searched.
** Important issues to note when changing search settings: **
If you add keywords where there were previously none, the search will become much more restrictive and this may prevent some of your papers being found. If you want to use additional logic terms to control the keyword search (AND, NOT etc), switch to ‘advanced view’ within Search Settings – Keywords. Alternatively, removing keywords and addresses will make your searches a lot more broad resulting in you receiving a large number of publications which may not be yours.
Online user guides:
Full information about using the system, amending search settings, importing, exporting and troubleshooting can be found online at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/symplectic/userguide (login required).
Enquiries:
- For general REF enquiries, please contact Lyndsey Pallant (REF Coordinator)
- If you are still unable to retrieve your publications through the methods above, please contact James Moore