What is ORCID?
The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is a permanent digital identification number associated with a given researcher. This identifier enables you to create an openly accessible profile for yourself that can be associated with and linked to your research activities and outputs, from grants, to articles, datasets, and citations. ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-driven effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers that can be tracked across publishers and institutions.
Benefits of ORCID
You can associate your ORCID number with all of your publications, data sets, grants, and even presentations to ensure that your work is uniquely identified. This alleviates confusion and helps you distinguish your research activities from others. It ensures proper attribution in cases where:
- You have a common name
- You have changed your name, or published under slight variations of your name (following a marriage or John Doe vs. John A. Doe, e.g.)
- You change institutions
A single common identifier makes it easier to find and cite your work in article databases and indexes, and through search engines such as Google Scholar. It also enables the automatic connection between systems.
As more journals and funders begin requesting and using ORCIDs, it can be a huge time saver as it has the option to automatically import your information, such as basic contact, awards and works, to these applications. See this Integration chart to find out which organizations are implementing connections with ORCID.
Some examples of ways to integrate your existing profile with ORCID:
Registering with ORCID
Registering with ORCID is fairly straightforward. Once you register, you can begin to connect other details for your record by linking to other identifiers, publications, grants, etc. You can adjust the privacy settings for the information stored in ORCiD at any time.
Questions about ORCID? Contact: Brian Westra
Graduate Students: Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation?
ProQuest, the site used by the University of Oregon to administer the submission of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), has begun tracking ORCID numbers. Associating a universal identifier with your work early in your career will ensure that it is always correctly attributed.
Questions about ORCID and ETDs? Contact: Catherine Flynn-Purvis
