Researcher Profiles, Identifiers, and Social Networks: SciENcv

Biosketches Required for Grant Applications
If you are going to be applying for grants from the NIH, NSF, U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences, and more federal agencies to come, you will be required to submit a Biosketch in the format specific to that agency.  For the NSF, fillable PDFs are no longer allowed.

Save Time
Create one Biosketch, including a My Bibliography, and then just create new ones by duplicating in the appropriate agency format and just editing.

Privacy Settings
You determine whether your entire Biosketch, or just portions are visible to the public and can easily be changed as needed.

No Extra Account Needed
As of June 2020, you now Log in to myNCBI, the home of SciENcv, using third party account information - Google, ORCID, eRA Commons, etc.

Start with NCBI's My Bibliography section

Having accurate information in the "My Bibliography" section is key to creating a timesaving and effective Biosketch. 

The purpose of "My Bibliography" is to serve as a master file of citations of all works authored by you.  It is private by default.

Citations can be added from PubMed, from a file, or manually. 

If you choose to add citations manually, you can select a template of fillable fields from a range of possibilities:

Journal article that does not appear in PubMed, Books and Chapters, Meeting Abstracts, Presentations, Patents, Dataset or database, Software, Pre-print, or Other (non-standard citation).

At the top of your SciENcv list of documents page, there is a "Mini Profile"

Note: You are warned "This profile is a quick way to tell people who you are. It will be treated as public information and may also appear in other places." You can leave it blank, enter the bare minimum of information, or complete all fields as shown below.  

• Log in to My NCBI to view your dashboard
  
• Click in the SciENcv box to create a new CV, or to edit a profile, click on Manage SciENcv.
• Create a document name, choose the appropriate format, choose to "Start with a Blank Document" (i.e., enter the information manually, step-by-step), "From an existing document" ( a copy and edit), or "From an external source" (i.e., ORCID, eRA Commons, NSF).  It defaults to private access, but can be changed at any time.
• 

Start with a blank document:

1. Fill out appropriate fields and click "Create".
2. For each section, click "Edit" next to the section title and add the requested information.
   NIH Sections - Name/address, Education/Training, A. Personal Statement, B. Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors, C. Contributions to Science (see additional information on this guide page)
   NSF sections - Name/address, A. Professional Preparation, B. Appointments, C. Products, D. Synergistic Activities
   IES Sections - Name/Address, Education/Training, A. Personal Statement, B. Positions and Honors, C. Contribution to Education Research, D. Additional Information: Research Support and/or Scholastic Performance

"Existing Document" as Data Source:

1. Fill out appropriate fields, selecting the existing document you want to import data from, and click "Create"
2. Many fields such as Name, Education, and Positions will already be filled in as that data is pulled from the existing source. Double check those sections.
3. For each section specific to the format, click "Edit" next to the section title and add the requested information.

"External Source"  as Data Source:

1. Fill out appropriate fields, selecting the external source you want to import data from (eRA Commons, ORCID, National Science Foundation), and click "Create"  
2. Many fields such as Name, Education, and Positions will already be filled in as that data is pulled from the existing source. Double check those sections.
3. For each section specific to the format, click "Edit" next to the section title and add the requested information.

• Detailed Instructions for Creating an NIH Biosketch
• Detailed Instructions for Creating an NSF Biosketch

• Institute of Educational Science Application Submission Information

To share your completed profile:

1. From the SciENcv box in My NCBI, click on "Manage SciENcv"
2. Select a document name, then next to Sharing in the top profile box, select "Change" sharing.
3. A URL will be generated that can be sent to those with whom you wish to share your profile.

The completed profile can be downloaded in PDF, MS Word or XML format.  A profile downloaded as a PDF is preferable for upload to Grants.gov due to hidden metadata in the file that can help with the application process.

For the Contributions to Science Section of the NIH Biosketch 

This is where you can add up to 5 descriptions of how you have helped improve the scietific filed.  for each tab, you can add up to 4 citations as supporting documentation.

When submitting a grant application, it is suggested by NIH staff to check the box to "Include link to list of published work in My Bibliography".  This will make your "My Bibliography" public, but it is used by proposal reviewers who don't want to click on a link to an external list of citations in an application for fear of malware, etc.