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Northwestern Elements

Northwestern Elements is web-based warehouse of information about scholarly products.

Impersonate Users

What are Super Users?

Only "super users" possess special permissions to impersonate other users in Northwestern Elements. Each department at Feinberg School of Medicine has one or more designated super users. These super users have a role in Elements called “System Verifier” which allows them to impersonate other users, edit publication records, and edit the verification status of publication records. You can find your super user by contacting your department administrators. See here: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/fao/resources/administrative-contacts.html


Are you a new Super User of Northwestern Elements?

New super users of Northwestern Elements should sign up for an in-person Northwestern Elements class, where they will receive the necessary permissions to be a super user. If super users prefer taking the pre-recorded class, they need to email ghsl-ref@northwestern.edu or contact their Liaison Librarian ahead of time to request the necessary permissions to be a super user for Northwestern Elements.


How to impersonate in Elements:

  1. Visit Elements at elements.northwestern.edu
  2. Log in to Elements using your NetID and password
  3. Click on the Impersonate icon to access another user's profile.
  4. Enter the desired faculty member’s name in the Name contains field [last name, first name], then click on Set filters.
  5. Click on the user's name to finish impersonating them.

Member of group: “Organisation” is the default setting that searches all active faculty and staff in each department, school, office, etc. To narrow the search, select the desired option from the drop down menu.

Include inactive users: The default setting does not search the preserved profiles of faculty and staff who left Northwestern University since 2016. To include these inactive user profiles in your search, please check the box next to “Include inactive users.”

Please note: To stop impersonating a user, go to the top of the page and click on the “x” next to the impersonated user’s name.