Symplectic Elements

Symplectic Elements Research Information Management System
Symplectic Elements

Symplectic Elements

Symplectic Elements is the University of Plymouth's research information management system. In Elements, we capture information about research outputs, grants, equipment, impact and activities linked to our researchers. This information is used for internal reporting and to support assessment exercises like the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and the annual ResearchFish submission.

Records of research outputs collected in Elements are used to populate staff profiles in the University's website, as well as showcasing the research of our faculties, schools and research institutes.

Our researchers also use Elements to deposit their outputs on the University's research repository, PEARL, ensuring compliance with open access requirements from funders such as HEFCE and UKRI.

Why is it important to use Symplectic Elements?

The information collected in Elements is used internally for planning and decision making and helps us demonstrate the value and impact of your research to funders and the wider community. Keeping your Elements profile up to date improves the quality of the information we collect and supports these important reporting and showcasing activities. And there are multiple other benefits for researchers and research managers too.

How does Symplectic Elements help researchers?

All University of Plymouth staff and all postgraduate research (PGR) students have a Symplectic Elements account. You can use Elements to:

  • Collect information about your research activities, including outputs, grants, professional activities and PGR supervision.
  • Auto-claim outputs from external data sources such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science or CrossRef.
  • Populate your ORCID profile.
  • Link publications to your University web profile.
  • View metrics about your outputs.
  • Deposit outputs in PEARL and comply with funder open access requirements.
  • Link your outputs and grants.
  • Review and prepare your data for internal and external assessment exercises.
  • Find potential collaborators.
  • Collate your information into a CV that you can export as a Word or PDF document.
  • Set up delegates to manage your account.

How does Symplectic Elements help research managers and administrators?

Staff in research manager or research administrator roles can have additional privileges to support their activities. For example, you can use Elements to:

  • Review and report on research activity by faculty, school, research group or REF unit of assessment.
  • Set up bespoke groups to analyse activity.
  • Monitor engagement,productivity and compliance with funder requirements.
  • Create workflows to support the collection and management of data for internal reviews or external assessment exercises like REF.
  • Create custom label schemes to manage information for multiple purposes.
  • Capture information about equipment and facilities linked to research grants.
  • Export identifiers such as ORCIDs, Scopus IDs or DOIs to support information requests and analysis in other systems such as SciVal.
  • Gather information for showcasing the University's research activities.
  • Ensure that you are getting the richest and most up to date information available.

Can others see the information I put in Symplectic Elements?

Elements is an internal system, only open to University of Plymouth staff and PGR students. To promote discoverability and collaboration, researcher profiles and objects (such as outputs and grants) are visible to all users of the system by default, however, you can manage the visibility of your Elements profile and the fields within it by setting privacy levels. To find out more see the privacy statement.

How do I log in?
Go to Symplectic Elements and log in using your University username and password.

How can I find out more about using Elements?
Check the Library's Elements support & guidance page to find out more about managing publications and identifiers.

Contact researchstrategyandgovernance@plymouth.ac.uk to get group admin or reporting access, or to discuss your system requirements.