What is ORCID iD?

The ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a unique identifier for researchers. It addresses the issue that a particular author's contributions to the literature are hard to recognize because names are not unique, they can change, have cultural differences in name order, or contain inconsistent use of first-name abbreviations. It is essentially a persistent identifier for a person, similar digital object identifiers (DOIs).

Why ORCID iD?*

1. Reliably connects you with your works, awards, and affiliations. Use it whenever prompted (or required), such as submitting a manuscript or applying for a grant. 

2. Alleviates mistaken identity. Many researchers share the same, or similar name, making it easy to confuse one from another. This is even more likely with name changes, different versions of names, or names that have been transliterated into other languages.

3. You own and control your record, managing what information is connected and how it is shared. You choose the information to connect to your iD, and whom to share it with. 

4. More and more systems you already use are connected to ORCID. For example, major manuscript submission systems have embedded ORCID iDs and many journals now require authors to use an ORCID iD (e.g. PLOS, Nature, Elsevier). Additionally, funding agencies such as Wellcome Trust and NIH now request grantees to use ORCID to manage information in their systems.  

5. Saves you time. Enter your information once and reuse it to be pushed to a variety of platforms or websites. No more filling in your name, address, or affiliation multiple times.

6. Improves recognition for you and your research. Creates reliable connections between your iD and your research activities. For example, if you provide your iD the next time you peer review; recognition of your review activity can be deposited in your ORCID record, enabling you to share it with the other organizations you interact with.

7. Increases discoverability of your research outputs. Makes your research easier to discover. A number of platforms are including ORCID iDs as a search term and/or a method for enhancing search results.

8. Supports many types of “works,” from articles to dance performances. Any type of scholarly output, ORCID can handle.

9. It's free and easy to register. Takes less than a minute to register. 

10. ORCID is a lifelong digital identifier. Use it for life.

*Adapted from: https://www.elsevier.com/connect/authors-update/ten-reasons-to-get-and-use-an-orcid-id!

Create an ORCID iD

1. Register for an account by filling out your information.

2. Sign in using "Personal Account"
   

Using Your ORCID / Building Your ORCID Record

1. Automatic updates to your ORCID record as you publish: Authorize Crossref and/or DataCite - the main DOI providers for research publications - to automatically update your record whenever you publish a journal article or dataset.  
   1. Crossref will ask your permission to after your paper has been accepted - look out for an email from them and, when prompted, sign in to your ORCID account and authorize them to update your record. 
   2. You can activate DataCite’s auto-update feature yourself, independently of the publication process. Simply set up a DataCite profile and enable the ORCID Auto-Update functionality.
2. Connect to your existing works: Use the ORCID Search & Link tools to connect your works to your record. You can import information from some of the biggest databases, like Crossref Metadata Search, ResearcherID, and ScopusID; from discipline specific databases like Europe PubMed Central and the MLA International Bibliography; and country and/or language-specific databases such as Airiti, KoreaMed, and Redalyc. Select the Search & Link option under Add Works in the Works section of your ORCID record, choose the database you want to connect with, and grant permission for it to access and update your ORCID record. You’ll be presented with a list of publications that match the information in your record, and you simply claim the ones that are yours. They will immediately appear in your ORCID record, with the relevant database showing as the source.  

3. Connect to your existing grants: Use the UberResearch Search & Link tool. This works in much the same way as the Search & Link tools for works, enabling you to connect your grants and awards to your record. Click on the Search & Link option in the Funding section of your record, select UberWizard for ORCID, authorize access to your record and claim your grants in the same way as you do your works. The source will be shown as UberResearch.

4. Connect to your patents: Using the Lens is the easiest way to integrate your ORCID with patents. More information from the ORCID blog on Lens and the Lens support page. Instructions:

   1. ​Go to the Lens website

   2. Log in using your ORCID ID (requires an email verification step)

   3. Search for your patents (e.g. specifying 'issued' and your name)

   4. Click the little "V" button to expand the record shown, and scroll down to your name

   5. Click your name and choose "Record Inventorship"

5. Connect your existing profiles to your ORCID record. Do you already have a ResearcherID or ScopusID profile? What about Kudos, Loop, Mendeley, or Publons? These and other researcher systems have enabled you to connect information from them to your ORCID record. Each works slightly differently, but in all cases you’ll be offered the option to link your iD to your profile and asked to grant permission to update your ORCID record. No need to rekey the same data! You may find that the same works get added to your ORCID record multiple times; if so, we will automatically group them by identifier. If there is no identifier you can opt to group them manually if you wish.

*Information from: https://orcid.org/blog/2017/08/10/six-ways-make-your-orcid-id-work-you