Ten reasons to get — and use — an ORCID iD!

It can be difficult to ensure that you receive due credit for your work, particularly if you share a name with (potentially several) other researchers. There is a great resource available to authors to prevent this sort of confusion and ensure the correct attribution of research: ORCID. In this guest post, Alice Meadows, Director of Community Engagement & Support at ORCID describes how the system can help you.

Over 3.7m researchers have now registered for an ORCID iD - a unique, 16-digit identifier that they can use to clearly distinguish themselves from other researchers and reliably connect with their own professional affiliations and contributions. Registering is quick, easy, and free, and ORCID iDs are now embedded in over 500 systems globally, spanning manuscript submission, grant application and research information management. For example, Elsevier supports ORCID iDs in submitting your work to its journals, managing your references with Mendeley, or synchronizing with an institution’s PURE CRIS system.

Here are our top 10 reasons to get — and use — your own iD:

1. An ORCID iD reliably connects you with your works, awards, and affiliations. Use it whenever prompted (or required to do so), for example, when signing into your university’s CRIS (current research information system), submitting a manuscript or applying for a grant. You should always be asked to sign in to your ORCID record as part of this process so that the connection between you and your information is accurate, and you have given permission for that connection to be made.
2. ORCID alleviates mistaken identity. Many researchers share the same, or a similar name, making it easy to confuse you with someone else. This is even more likely to be the case if you have changed your name, use different versions of your name, or have a name that has been transliterated into other languages. Having and using your own ORCID iD ensures that you are correctly identified.
3. You own and control your record, managing what information is connected and how it is shared. Researcher control is a core ORCID principle. Only you can claim an ORCID iD for yourself and only you can set up your record. You choose what information to connect to your iD, and whom to share it with - everyone, no one, or trusted organizations (e.g. ORCID members, who must first get your permission to access your record). ORCID’s visibility settings are very granular, so you can make different data elements visible to different groups.
4. More and more of the systems you already use are connected with ORCID. With over 700 members and more than 500 live integrations, ORCID is already being used in many of your existing workflows. For example, major manuscript submission systems have embedded ORCID iDs and over 1,600 journals are now requiring some or all authors to use an iD. The main CRIS systems also use ORCID, as do many other systems - research profiles, funding, repositories, and more. And more ORCID integrations are being launched every month!
5. ORCID saves you time – “enter once, reuse often”. Our ultimate goal is for you to manage your research and career information using your iD (see #4) and your ORCID record, and for updates to flow from there easily into the other systems you use. This will not only save you time, but also ensure that the information in your record has been validated by your organizations.
6. ORCID improves recognition for you and your research. Using your iD (see #4) 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. ORCID increases discoverability of your research outputs. Connections (see #6) also make you and 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. It’s free to register and use an ORCID iD. ORCID is, and always will be, free for researchers. Anyone who contributes in any way to research, scholarship, or innovation can register for an iD. We are supported by membership revenues from research organizations worldwide - associations, funders, publishers, research institutions, and more.
9. It’s easy to register, and to use and connect your iD with your affiliations, works, and awards. Registration takes less than a minute - all you need is one version of your name, your email address and a password. And connecting additional information is getting easier all the time - see this recent post on Six Ways to Make Your ORCID iD Work for You to find out more.
10. Your ORCID iD is your lifelong digital identifier. ORCID is open, international, community-based, and multi-disciplinary. You can use it in any ORCID-integrated system. We support multiple languages and character sets. You can use your iD at every stage of your career, through your education, jobs, and moves.