Google Scholar citation missing because of name mismatch?

Question

I am a PhD student and have only a few publications under my belt. I just noticed a Nature paper cited my Master's thesis but it cited my first name as my last and my last first. I am a tad worried that this problem would propagate. On top of that, I tried to add this missing citation to my Google Scholar profile by adding an article manually with the messed up name (as in the references of the work citing mine) but the citation didn't show. For some reason, this citation was shown on ResearchGate and I just claimed authorship to it but would this affect the Google Scholar citation count though?

Would appreciate any suggestions around avoiding name being mis-cited or fixing citation count.

Answer 1

I would suggest that you email Nature, and the authors of the publication providing proof that they have not cited your work correctly. If either of them address this issue - which they should - then you should end up with the citation being correctly attributed to you.

On a side note I would suggest that you sign up to ORCID so that you claim a unique identifier for your research.

As researchers and scholars, you face the ongoing challenge of distinguishing your research activities from those of others with similar names. You need to be able to easily and uniquely attach your identity to research objects such as datasets, equipment, articles, media stories, citations, experiments, patents, and notebooks. As you collaborate across disciplines, institutions and borders, you must interact with an increasing number and diversity of research information systems. Entering data over and over again can be time-consuming, and often frustrating.

ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers and a transparent method of linking research activities and outputs to these identifiers. ORCID is unique in its ability to reach across disciplines, research sectors and national boundaries. It is a hub that connects researchers and research through the embedding of ORCID identifiers in key workflows, such as research profile maintenance, manuscript submissions, grant applications, and patent applications.