ORCID is an international not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to uniquely identify researchers and to provide information about researchers’ work, regardless of when and where that work took place. ORCID assigns a unique identifier (ORCID iD) to each researcher who registers. ORCID also provides a place for researchers to record their education, employment history, publications, and funding sources. By using their ORCID iDs and keeping their ORCID iD records up to date, researchers are assured that they will not be confused with other researchers with the same or similar names, and that their work will be attributed properly to themselves.
Researchers may be known by several different versions of their names. Common variations include with first and middle names spelled out, with a middle initial instead of a middle name, with one or two initials, and with or without a maiden or married name. For example, these are all possible names for the same person:
At the same time, there may be other researchers with any of these same names. By using an ORCID iD, this researcher can be sure that she gets credit for all of her work, no matter what form of her name is on the work. In addition, she will not be credited with work done by someone else with the same name.
An ORCID iD is free to a researcher. ORCID is supported by organizations that fund, publish, and otherwise support research.
Go to the ORCID website (https://orcid.org/) and follow the prompts to register.
Check out these resources at the ORCID website: