Integrating Delicious into my ePortfolio

I have been recording any mention or citations of my work in my ePortfolio, which is set up in Wikispaces. This has become important for me as an academic in New Zealand, because citations are evidence of peer esteem, which in turn is an element of PBRF - a process whereby my research performance is evaluated and 'rewarded' with funding at an institutional level.

I also collect evidence of 'peer esteem' in my ePortfolio because it will enhance my CV and hopefully will stand me in good stead when I have my annual performance/job review or if I look for a new job.

Tracking citations
In order to track what is being said about my work, I have set up a Google 'alert' for my name, which means I get an email whenever I am mentioned in other people's blogs or web sites. I also have a Technorati account which gives me similar information. And on occasion, I carry out a search in Google Scholar to see if any of my material that has been published in traditional journals has been cited.

Now, all this may seem narcissist to say the least, but I'm afraid it's the game we play in academia - and that is a blog post for another time.

'Citations' section of my ePortfolio
The problem I have found with recording citations in my ePortfolio has been that it is a little boring, and I never remember to do it as and when I come across citations. But I find that I forget the reference if I do not record it at the time I find it.

Using Del.icio.us to keep track
So I think I have found the solution suggested by Michele Martin in her post "Using Del.icio.us to Create an Easy, Always Updated Online Portfolio". What I do now is bookmark any mention of my work with the tag 'SarahStewart' in Del.icio.us. I also - when I remember- write a comment to describe the citation and why it is important to me and my professional profile.

Integration in Wikispaces
The problem with this solution was that I was replicating my work - the tagging aspect of Del.icio.us was quick and easy, but I was still recording the same citation in my ePortfolio.

But now I have set up a widget in my ePortfolio which imports my del.icio.us tags straight into the wiki page. So the only citations I have to record in my ePortfolio now are non-electronic ones.


Image: 'What's In The Bag?' Jim Nutt
www.flickr.com/photos/76479100@N00/6462349