Use Interfolio Data Service
The Interfolio Data Service (IDS) is technology that populates the Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR, F180) module in bulk with accurate data on faculty members' academic work. It pulls from sources like CrossRef, OpenAlex, and Scopus, covering over 250 million activities published in more than 60,000 journals, government systems, and authoritative outlets.
Throughout the year, IDS collects information on faculty publications, such as Books, Book Chapters, Journal Articles, and Proceeding Publications. It automatically cleans the data by formatting it, verifying that scholars with similar names are linked to the correct information, and consolidating duplicate activities. Scholars can then validate the academic data associated with them before it is saved to their Interfolio profile. Only after a scholar validates their data will it be stored in their Interfolio profile.
This article explains how to use the Interfolio Data Service (IDS) to efficiently add scholarly activity information to FAR.
Note that IDS is an add-on service and might not be currently available at your institution.
Data Deduplication
The Data Service avoids presenting duplicate data already in the FAR module by using deduplication scripts that check against the FAR database during the IDS data refresh. Faculty should accept IDS recommendations before manually adding scholarly records, as deduplication only occurs if the data found with IDS has been added to FAR first. If data is added to FAR after IDS runs, deduplication will not take place.
Data Disambiguation
Data disambiguation in IDS is based on name, institution email, ID, discipline, and institution. The Data Service will use ORCiD and Scopus Author ID for disambiguation where it is found with our searches for people. Note that integration with individual ORCiD accounts is also possible through the FAR module.
Review Matched Activities
- On your Homepage, scroll down to the Matched Activities section, which includes the Activities Need Review card (showing matched activities available for review) and the Activities Accepted card (counting activities added to your account).
- Click either card under the Matched Activities section on the homepage to navigate to the My Records page where you will see a list of your matched activities. Ensure the Need Review tab is selected.
This tabbed interface displays information from IDS categorized into Accepted (activities added to the account), Needs Review (activities ready for review), and Deleted (activities chosen not to be added to FAR).
Bulk Delete
Check the boxes next to to the activities to be deleted under the Need Review tab, then click the Delete Selected button above the activites. Activities cannot be accepted in bulk, they can only be deleted in bulk.
Restore Deleted
Select the Deleted tab and check the boxes next to to the activities to be restored. Then click the Restore Selected button above the activities.
- To edit, accept, or delete activities, click the hyperlinked Title of Activity to open the Step 1: Record Information window on the right-hand side.
- Fill out Step 1: Record Information and click Next Step when finished. Note the Next Step button will become active once all required fields are filled in.
- Fill out Step 2: Activity Classifications and click Accept Activity when finished. Note the Accept Activity button will become active once all required fields are filled in.
Use the stepper links at the top to navigate between steps or click the Delete button to remove an individual activity.
IDS Deduplication
IDS automatically deduplicates recommendations by comparing fields like type, date, journal, title and authors with existing FAR records, giving equal weight to all fields. When data is imported, the system runs a deduplication process. Matches over 82% are excluded without validation, while 80-85% matches are flagged as potential duplicates. Lower matches are accepted as new records.
Deduplication is case-sensitive, so capitalization differences may result in separate entries. This excludes data handled by the Data Services team or manually added by faculty.
Click the Eye (View) icon to navigate to the duplicate analysis details which display in a side-by-side comparison, allowing you to choose to Import As New (if the citation is not a duplicate), Replace Existing, or Discard Imported (if the activity is a duplicate).
FAQs
Where does Interfolio source its data, and what types of scholarly activity does IDS retrieve?
IDS pre-populates FAR with bibliographic data about faculty scholarship pulled in via integration with CrossRef and OpenAlex for easy validation by faculty members or their proxies. Types of scholarship available via the IDS include Books, Book Chapters, Journal Articles, and Proceeding Publications.
Note that the Web of Science by Clarivate currently cannot be connected with the IDS, but can connect with FAR directly (existing functionality).
Will IDS regularly fetch and load my activity data into FAR?
Yes, IDS is refreshed regularly with current data for all faculty members in the service.
- Data is updated simultaneously for all clients on a recurring basis.
- After removing duplicates and verifying the data, IDS presents the data to faculty for validation through a workflow similar to the existing Activity Input Workflow in the FAR module.
- Once a faculty member or proxy validates the citation, it will appear in FAR.
Where is the record of my latest scholarly activity?
Not seeing your latest scholarly activity? If something new has been published since the last update, it may still be on its way to the Homepage. If it is not time sensitive, give it time. If it does not appear in the next update, it may not have been captured in our source data pool. You might need to enter it manually or search an individually linked data source if applicable. For time-sensitive entries, manual entry or a search through linked sources will be necessary.
For support with publications data or the Interfolio platform, please contact Interfolio Scholar Services at help@interfolio.com or call (877) 997-8807, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET.
Will IDS integrate with my on-campus system/sources?
Currently, IDS can only pull data from sources automatically connected to the Data Service. The Interfolio FAR module still offers all of the existing data input options.