Western’s Research Information Management System (RIMS) Resource Hub

The Western Research Information Management System (RIMS)  helps you showcase your research, teaching, and professional activities—all in one place. This powerful system connects with external databases like Scopus, ORCID, and Web of Science to build and maintain an accurate scholarly profile The following tips will help you get started and maintain your profile. Most of the information can be edited, hidden, or deleted at any time if you change your mind about what is being displayed.

The system will be implemented in phases, with an emphasis on user-friendly reporting, seamless collaboration, and accessible support for all faculties.

Onboarding Checklist

Follow this checklist to ensure a successful onboarding to RIMS:

1) Claim or create your ORCID iD: Ensure your research outputs are properly attributed and connected.

2) Log into RIMS using your Western credentials: Access your profile and discover the platform’s features.

3) Review your profile and claim your IDs to add your publications: Keep your research record up to date for maximum visibility.

Contact Western Libraries for support: Reach out for technical help, questions, or training needs.

Additional useful resources:

• ORCID setup guide and WL Research and Scholarly Communication ORCID guide
• Guide: link your researcher identifiers in Symplectic Elements
• RIMS login portal
• RIMS FAQ 
• Western Libraries Research Support pages

Symplectic Quick Start Guide

Have a look at Symplectic's latest quick start guide, and/or follow the step-by-step instructions on this page below. 

1. Login

• Access the system via your institutional RIMS.
• Use your institutional single sign-on (SSO) credentials.
• First-time users may be prompted to review and confirm personal details.

If you encounter issues, contact rimshelp@lib.uwo.ca

Once you log in, you’ll see your Homepage, which includes:

• My Actions: Tasks requiring your attention, such as:
  • Update your profile
  • Claim Your Publications: Review and confirm your research outputs.
  • Add information to [Service & Leadership]
• Hamburger Menu (top left): Explore more features like profile, activities, and reports.
• Top Bar Notifications: Click the bell icon to view system alerts.

A snapshot of your current profile 

Click "Edit My Profile" to personalize your page:

• Upload a profile photo (JPEG/PNG, max 6.3MB)
• Education and degrees (guided fields)
• Research interests (Free text box)
• teaching summary (Free text box)
• Professional activities (Free text box)
• Social links (Include URLs that link out to Google Scholar, LinkedIN, News items, etc)
• YouTube videos

🛑 Note: “Primary group,”  job title, uwo email address, and the like,  are all populated from Human Resources and cannot be edited in RIMS.

Keep your profile current:

• Add Name Variants: On the homepage, under “Claim your publications”,
  • Click “Name-based search settings.” •
  • Add all published versions of your name (e.g., J. Paterson, Joanne M. Paterson, JM Paterson).
• Add Researcher Identifiers: 
• Click “Add your research identifiers.” 
• Link any IDs that belong to you:
  • ORCID iD
  • Scopus Author ID
  • Web of Science ResearcherID
  • Dimensions Researcher ID 

This helps RIMS claim or reject publications automatically—saving you time and reducing errors.

Symplectic Elements helps you maintain an accurate and up-to-date list of your research outputs.

Claiming Publications:

The system regularly imports publication data from trusted sources (e.g.,Orcid, Scopus, PubMed, Crossref).

• Review and claim items that belong to you.
• Reject or hide items that are not yours.

Adding New Publications:

Click "+ Add" and choose the appropriate publication type. Then fill in at least the mandatory metadata fields.

• You can add records manually or via DOI, PubMed ID, or BibTeX upload.

Learn more about managing your publications and scholarly outputs.

A note on Managing Privacy Settings: You control who can see your information.

Examples:

• Institutional Email = Public 
• Gmail = Private
• Alternate work email = Internal

• Grant permission to research administrators or assistants to update your profile on your behalf.

This is managed under the Account Settings section.

For help with using Expertise at Western [Symplectic Elements], please contact: rimshelp@uwo.ca.