ORCID

ORCID is a unique digital identifier that distinguishes researchers, Harvard University scholars, and University of Oxford authors from one another, helping to solve the problem of name ambiguity in scientific literature, as noted by Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf, and Marcia McNutt. The development of ORCID was supported by National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Research Councils UK, with the goal of creating a centralized registry of unique identifiers for researchers, similar to the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system used by Crossref and DataCite. ORCID has been widely adopted by PubMed, arXiv, and PLOS ONE, and is also used by Microsoft Academic and Google Scholar to disambiguate authors and their publications.

Introduction to ORCID

ORCID is an open, non-profit organization that provides a unique identifier for researchers, Stanford University faculty, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, allowing them to distinguish themselves from others with similar names, as discussed by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Sloan Foundation. The ORCID identifier is a 16-digit number that is assigned to each researcher, University of California, Los Angeles professor, and Columbia University researcher, and can be linked to their ResearchGate and Academia.edu profiles. ORCID has partnered with Thomson Reuters and Elsevier to integrate its identifiers into their publication databases, including Web of Science and Scopus. This has enabled researchers, such as Stephen Hawking and Neil deGrasse Tyson, to claim their publications and receive credit for their work, as recognized by American Physical Society and National Academy of Sciences.

History of ORCID

The concept of ORCID was first proposed in 2009 by Nature Publishing Group and PLOS, with the goal of creating a unique identifier for researchers, University of Cambridge academics, and University of Edinburgh scholars. The ORCID organization was officially launched in 2012, with the support of Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Since its launch, ORCID has gained widespread adoption, with over 10 million registered users, including Nobel Prize winners, such as James Watson and Francis Crick, and prominent researchers, such as Jane Goodall and Stephen Jay Gould. ORCID has also partnered with Wikipedia and Wikidata to integrate its identifiers into their platforms, as discussed by Jimmy Wales and Wikimedia Foundation.

How ORCID Works

ORCID works by assigning a unique identifier to each researcher, University of Chicago faculty, and Duke University student, which can be used to link their publications, GitHub repositories, and Figshare datasets. The ORCID identifier is stored in a centralized registry, which is maintained by the ORCID organization, with support from Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. Researchers, such as Timothy Gowers and Terence Tao, can claim their ORCID identifier and link it to their publications, arXiv preprints, and PLOS ONE articles. This allows them to receive credit for their work and distinguish themselves from others with similar names, as recognized by American Mathematical Society and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Benefits of ORCID

The benefits of ORCID include improved discoverability, University of Michigan researchers can be easily found by their ORCID identifier, and reduced name ambiguity, as noted by Paul Erdős and Andrew Odlyzko. ORCID also enables researchers, such as Lisa Randall and Brian Greene, to track their publications and receive credit for their work, as recognized by American Association for the Advancement of Science and National Science Foundation. Additionally, ORCID has partnered with ORCiD Australia and ORCiD Japan to provide localized support and services, as discussed by Australian Research Council and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This has enabled researchers, such as University of Tokyo professors and University of Sydney scholars, to integrate their ORCID identifiers into their national research systems, including National Institutes of Health and European Research Council.

ORCID Integration and Adoption

ORCID has been widely adopted by research institutions, publishers, and funding agencies, including National Institutes of Health, European Research Council, and Wellcome Trust. Many journals, such as Nature and Science, require authors to provide their ORCID identifier as part of the publication process, as noted by American Chemical Society and Institute of Physics. ORCID has also partnered with GitHub and Figshare to enable researchers, such as Linus Torvalds and Larry Wall, to link their ORCID identifier to their code repositories and data repositories, as recognized by Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiative. This has enabled researchers, such as University of California, San Diego professors and University of Washington scholars, to integrate their ORCID identifiers into their research workflows, including Open Access and Open Science initiatives.

ORCID Data and Privacy

ORCID takes data privacy seriously, as noted by European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act. The organization has implemented robust security measures to protect the personal data of its users, including encryption and access controls, as discussed by National Institute of Standards and Technology and International Organization for Standardization. ORCID also provides users with control over their data, allowing them to manage their privacy settings and data sharing preferences, as recognized by Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union. This has enabled researchers, such as University of California, Berkeley faculty and Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, to trust ORCID with their personal data and use its services with confidence, as supported by University of Oxford and Harvard University.