Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

• ORCID iD is a 16-digit unique identifier. https://orcid.org/
• ORCID is free to register and use. 
• ORCID is used around the world by
  • Publishers (e.g. PLOS, EMBO Press, Hindawi, Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Wiley, Springer Nature, full list)
  • Research institutions
  • Funding agencies
• ORCID is open source. For more, click here. 
• ORCID supports the interoperable exchange of datasets. For more, click here.

1. ORCID solves the name ambiguity problem and reduces mistaken identity. Having an ORCID profile allows you to get credit and recognition for your scholarly work. 
2. ORCID saves you time:
   • ​ORCID offers Auto-Updating functionality. With this functionality, if a researcher includes their ORCID iD when they submit a manuscript or dataset, their ORCID profile is automatically updated when the work is published. The Auto-Update tool has been developed in collaboration with CrossRef and DataCite.
   • Many major publishers have incorporated ORCID iD into their workflows. When submitting a manuscript to a journal or when you are a peer-reviewer for a journal, using your ORCID iD allows to automatically fill in your personal details in the journal online forms. To see the full list of publishers, click here. 
   • ORCID data can be imported into your NIH Biosketch for grants management and submission. 
   • ORCID data can be used for reporting purposes by your organization and funding agencies, as more organizations implement ORCID integration (i.e. using Open API). 
3. ORCID ensures data accuracy. You own and control your record, managing what information is connected and how it is shared. 
4. Improves recognition and discoverability for you and your research outputs. It provides additional access point for your PubMed citations (e.g. simply search the following ORCID 0000-0003-1841-9347 in PubMed. You do not need to use any field tags.)
5. ORCID is very user friendly. 

• ORCID iD is not created automatically. Therefore, it is fully owned and controlled by the researchers. 
• ORCID is not a social media platform, nor a profile system, nor an online CV, nor content repository, or personal website and therefore;
  • there is not any risk of copyright infringement because you do not upload any papers;
  • the content is not limited to the coverage of the database;
  • it is yours. It is persistent and not attached to any institutions;
  • it does not provide research metrics. However, it could facilitate obtaining the metrics.
• You can still link your ORCID iD to other identifiers. To learn more, visit https://support.orcid.org/knowledgebase/articles/1807516-other-identifiers 

The main goals of ORCID are: 

• to provide a unique and persistent identifiers to disambiguate researchers.
• to provide a hub for synchronising machine-readable and interoperable connections between identifiers and research activities (using Open API).