ACADEM includes a feature that allows you to identify and merge duplicate person entries in the PERSON and FACULTY tables.
This feature is particularly helpful in the following situations:
- Merging contacts created both in the FACULTY and PERSON tables: when a faculty member is created externally (as the author of a publication, for instance) and later added internally—or vice versa. Their contact then exists in both the FACULTY and PERSON tables.
- Merging duplicates within the PERSON table: when multiple methods are used to create contacts in the database (imports, workflows, manual entry from the interface), or due to typos or name changes, some contacts may end up duplicated.
⚠️ The merge operation transfers data from a PERSON record to either another PERSON record or a FACULTY record.
Supported merge types:
- PERSON → PERSON: merging two external people.
- PERSON → FACULTY: merging an external person into an internal one.
ℹ️ This feature is only available in version 6.1. If you don’t have access to it yet, please contact our team via Redmine to plan the update of your solution.
Search for Duplicate
Go to the menu: Other > Administration > Person Duplicate Search

To search for duplicate:
- Set a similarity percentage between people: The recommended minimum percentage is 50%.
- Use the Filter field for more precision: you can enter a few letters or a keyword (such as a last name or first name) to narrow the search within the database.
- The box “Show only results that include an internal person” is checked by default.
Uncheck it if you’re running the search to merge duplicates within the PERSON table only.
The results will appear under the section Candidate Similar Persons

Persons are grouped based on similarities found in their first and/or last names.
Start the Merge
Click the yellow Merge button at the top right of the list of similar people.
A window opens to initiate the merge process, displaying the list of similar persons along with several useful data to help determine the appropriate direction of the merge:
- The first and last names of the contacts
- Their affiliation type in ACADEM: are they affiliated with the institution (Internal) or with another institution (External)?
⚠️ Merging is not possible between two internal contacts. - The number of intellectual contributions, Theses, and Patents associated with each person
- Any contact identifiers from other systems (e.g., ORCID connector, HAL, or LinkedIn), stored in the CONTACTIDENTIFIERS table
The following four columns are used to configure the merge:
- TARGET: This is the person to keep; the merge will consolidate other records into this one. The data from the source contacts will be transferred to this target’s profile.
When this option is selected, the row appears in green in the list. - SOURCE: This person’s record will be deleted, and their Intellectual Contributions, Patents, and Theses will be transferred to the target.
ℹ️ All other data from the source will be deleted during the merge.
When this option is selected, the row appears in yellow in the list.

Here, we can see that the Internal contact is selected as the target, and the External contact is selected as the source: their data will therefore be merged into the target.

Once the merge is complete, only the target contact is retained, but their data has been updated: in this example, the number of contributions increased from 5 to 6, as the contribution from the source was added.
- DELETE: Only the data already present in the target’s record is kept, and the duplicate is deleted along with all its data. This operation is therefore not a merge, but a removal of a duplicate contact.
When the DELETE option is selected, the row appears in red in the list.

Here, we can see that the Internal contact is selected as the target, and the External contact is selected as the contact to be deleted.

Once the deletion is complete, only the target contact is retained, with no changes to their data.
- IGNORE: If the list of similar people includes more than two persons, some of them can be ignored. The operation will then only apply to those defined as TARGET, SOURCE, and/or marked for DELETION.
ℹ️ The eye-shaped icon on the right side of the list allows you to access the selected person’s profile to view or edit their information.
The minus (-) icon allows you to remove the person from the list.
Other people can be manually added to the list of individuals to merge by clicking the + Add Person or Faculty button at the bottom of the window.
In this case, a search window allows you to select a contact to merge or delete from all the persons recorded in the FACULTY and PERSON tables.
If needed, the list can be cleared using the Clear List button, allowing it to be rebuilt manually by searching for and adding people one by one.
Click the yellow Merge button to start the merge or deletion operation.
Once the operation is complete, the result will appear on the Person duplicate search page:

Here, we can see that the Internal contact has been retained and the External contact has been merged.

Here, we can see that the Internal contact has been retained and the External contact has been deleted.
Initiating a Manual Merge
Searching for duplicate contacts is sometimes unnecessary when you already know which contacts need to be merged.
From the menu Other > Administration > Person Duplicate Search, click the yellow Manual Merge button at the top of the page.
The merge window will open directly, and the contacts to be merged can be added using the + Add Person or Faculty button.
Deleting an Internal Faculty Member
Merging is not possible between two persons in the FACULTY table, but in case of duplicates, faculty profiles can be deleted by an administrator.
Go to Other > Administration > Deletion of faculties
⚠️ The information from the deleted profile will not be transferred to any other person in the FACULTY table.
Please contact our team on Redmine if you wish to transfer data before deleting an internal faculty member’s profile. Our technical team will assist you.