> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.myresearchlab.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Researcher profiles

> Make your research discoverable—build a public profile, follow peers, and find studies by research area.

Your public profile on My Research Lab is a landing page that showcases your studies, research areas, and published work. It's opt-in, so you control exactly what appears online.

<Frame caption="A public researcher profile — affiliation, research areas, and public studies.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/myresearchlabapp/N_UsE7EEZCiPq0WC/images/workspace/researcher-profiles.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=N_UsE7EEZCiPq0WC&q=85&s=6836dce3b0bed42561730009defcc091" alt="" width="1760" height="1100" data-path="images/workspace/researcher-profiles.png" />
</Frame>

## Turn on your public profile

1. Go to **Settings → Account → Profile**
2. Check **Make my profile public**
3. Pick a **handle** — your unique URL will be `myresearchlab.app/u/your-handle`
4. (Optional) Add a bio, upload a photo, and link your published articles
5. Click **Save**

Once public, your profile is live and anyone can visit it, even without an account.

<Note>
  Off by default. Only the studies and templates you've already marked public appear on your profile — your workspace activity is never shown. You can turn your profile back off anytime.
</Note>

## What your profile shows

A public researcher profile displays:

* **Identity**: Your name, affiliation, and research areas
* **Bio**: A short about section (up to 1000 characters)
* **Photo**: A public avatar (falls back to your account photo if not set)
* **Published articles**: Links to papers you've already published elsewhere
* **Public studies**: All studies you've marked public + replication count for each
* **Templates**: Public workspace templates you've created and their use count
* **Links**: Your ORCID, website, and Google Scholar profile (if provided in Settings)

## Build your profile while editing

All the profile fields live in **Settings → Account → Profile**:

| Field              | Used where                                          |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Display name**   | Public profile, author byline, OSF preregistrations |
| **Full name**      | OSF preregistration metadata, author byline         |
| **Affiliation**    | Public profile, OSF metadata                        |
| **Research areas** | Public profile (as tags), discovery filters         |
| **ORCID iD**       | Public profile link, OSF metadata                   |
| **Website**        | Public profile link                                 |
| **Google Scholar** | Public profile link                                 |

Research areas (up to 20) let other researchers find you through shared interests. They show as chips on your public profile.

## Share your profile

Once your profile is live, you'll see a "View your public profile" link in Settings. Share that URL with collaborators, put it in your bio, or include it in papers. Your profile is fully public — no sign-up required to view it.

## Discover researchers

### Browse the researchers directory

Go to **Researchers** in the main menu to see all public profiles on My Research Lab. Find researchers by:

* **Studying the cards**: Each researcher card shows their name, affiliation, research areas (up to 3), study count, and follower count
* **Clicking through**: Cards link to full public profiles

### Follow researchers

On any public profile, click **Follow** (or sign up first if you don't have an account) to:

* **See their activity** in your Activity feed (under "Follows")
* **Stay updated** when they publish new studies, templates, or forked replications
* **Discover studies faster** without browsing the Browse directory

You can follow researchers, studies, specific research-area tags, and reusable modules. Manage all your follows in your **Activity** feed under the "Following" list.

<Tip>
  Following a researcher is the fastest way to stay in sync with their work — their published studies, replications, and new templates all surface in your feed.
</Tip>

## Edit or hide your profile

Anytime, go back to **Settings → Account → Profile** to:

* **Update fields**: Refresh your bio, research areas, links, or photo
* **Turn it off**: Uncheck **Make my profile public** and your profile disappears (the URL will 404)
* **Change your handle**: Available handles are live-checked as you type

Hiding your profile doesn't delete any studies or templates — they just stop being discoverable through the researchers directory.

## Privacy & discoverability

* **Your workspace is never public** — only studies and templates you've explicitly marked public appear
* **No one can see your name or identity** unless you turn on a public profile
* **Activity feed is personal** — your follow list, studies in progress, and responses are private to you
* **Researchers directory is opt-in** — researchers appear here only if they've turned on their public profile