Distinguish Your Research with an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is an open, non-profit effort to create and maintain a registry of unique researcher identifiers (that distinguish you from every other researcher) and a transparent method of linking research activities to these identifiers. An ORCID iD eliminates issues with author name ambiguity.

Anyone can benefit from an ORCID iD, but they are especially useful if you:

• Have a name with non-Latin characters

• Have changed your name

• Go by a nickname

• Have a commonly used name

• Have published under different variations of your name

If you've published NIH, AHRQ, or CDC funded research, you will be required to get an ORCID iD. 

• Requirement for ORCID iDs for Individuals Supported by Research Training, Fellowship, Research Education, and Career Development Awards Beginning in FY 2020

• Makes it easy for individuals, employers, and funders to recognize and discover publications authored by you.
• Ensures your research outputs are correctly attributed to you.
• ORCID iDs are recognized by many institutions, funders, and publishers.
• Increasing numbers of journal publishers require you to submit an ORCID iD when submitting a manuscript.
• Your ORCID iD can be used throughout your research career, no matter which organization you are affiliated with.
• ORCID iD numbers are searchable in PubMed. ORCID also integrates with SciENcv and eRA Commons.
• Using an ORCID iD is free and will always be free.

Obtain an ORCID iD by filling out the form on the ORCID website. Per ORCID's terms and conditions, you may only register for an ORCID iD for yourself. If you need help with completing your registration, here is an explanation of the various fields on the form. 

Make sure to add the following information so people can find you:

• All other names you have published under, including:

  • Abbreviations

  • Middle initials

  • Different surnames

  • Non-Latin character sets

• All current and past email addresses. You'll need to set one as your primary one, but associating multiple email addresses will allow you to log in with any of them, and prevent the creation of a duplicate account by yourself or your employer.

• Your education and employment information by clicking on Add Education Manually. Begin typing in the name of your institution, and you will be invited to select from a list. Select the top-level option (such as Massachusetts General Hospital, not Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute).

Learn more about ORCID's visibility settings. You can adjust these settings for specific parts of your profile. In other words, you can set your education information to be only visible by you, and keep everything else public, or you can hide a certain citation. You have three options for who can view your information:

• Everyone on the web. You can make your profile findable through Google and other search engines, or turn off that setting.
• Trusted parties, or only people you have granted access to your record including trusted organizations and individuals.
• Only me, which includes yourself and any delegates you have set for your account.

Use and display your ORCID ID in your CV or resume, web page, email signature, business cards and anywhere else you have a public profile. When including your identifier, use the full URL so that people know it is an ORCID iD and can navigate to your ORCID page.