ORCID

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a system of unique identifiers that is used to identify researchers and their research outputs across platforms.

ORCIDs are a good idea because:

• They distinguish between researchers with the same or similar names
• They save time – entering your ORCID will auto-populate personal details when completing online forms on compatible systems
• The ORCID organisation is community driven and non-proprietary
• ORCIDs allow different platforms to talk to each other. Signing up for an ORCID will allow the push and pull of data from one system to another. For example, all publications with a DOI can automatically be added to your ORCID record by giving CrossRef (DOI provider) permissions to add data to your account

Over 14 million ORCIDs have been issued and they are free. You can register on the ORCID website.

ORCIDs are increasingly important:

• Publishers are beginning to require authors to have an ORCID at point of submission e.g. RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry), The Royal Society, IOP (Institute of Physics) Publishing, AGU (American Geophysical Union), APS (American Physical Society), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and PLOS (Public Library of Science)
• Funders are beginning to require ORCIDs in grant applications e.g. The Wellcome Trust, NIHR
• RCUK/UKRI collect ORCIDs in the Joint Electronic Submission System (JeS)
• ORCIDs can be used in Researchfish