What is ORCiD?
ORCID [Open Researcher and Contributor ID] provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you and your research activities from every other researcher, ensuring that you are recognized as the author of your work. An ORCiD ID enables you to easily and uniquely attach your identity to research objects such as datasets, equipment, articles, media stories, citations, experiments, patents, and notebooks, and the growing use of ORCiD across research infrastructure means you can do so without having to enter the same information over and over again.
How do I get an ORCiD?
All you need to do is sign up! Registration takes less than 30 seconds.
Watch this video for a tutorial on signing up:
But don't stop there! Having an ORCID is a great start - but take a few minutes to fill it in with your funding and publications. It's a very easy process. You can add information about where you work and your education as well if you're so inclined. Talk to a librarian or watch the below video if you'd like more information:
Once you have your ORCID, you may want to link to your UPenn account; this will allow you to sign in using your PennKey and password!
Lost your ORCID credentials? ORCiD staff can help! Learn how by watching this video:
Why Use ORCiD?
5 Reasons to Get an ORCID iD
1. An ORCID iD makes sure that all and only your scholarly activity, from journal articles to grants to peer review, can be attributed to you and only you. This is good because:
- Names are not unique; ORCID iDs are.
- You may publish under different versions of your name; ORCID can connect them under one identifier.
- Your name may change but your ORCID does not.
2.Your ORCID iD is yours - it doesn't belong to a for-profit company or your institution. You can take it with you wherever you go and whatever you do.
3. It's very easy to register for and populate your ORCID profile. ORCID works with funders, journals, and research institutions such as Penn so you can automatically pull in new information from trusted organizations and push it out to others.
4. Once you've got your ORCID iD set up, you'll have an easy-to-update list of all your publications and funding in one place.
5. Increasingly, publishers and funding agencies require or recommend an ORCID iD so they can make sure your work is correctly attributed to you.
Federal Mandates
Note that in 2022, the Whitehouse Office of Science and Technology Policy issued memos strongly recommending all federally funded researchers obtain a digital persistent identifier such as an ORCID iD in the interest of research security (NSPM-33) and to meet the new requirement to ensure free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research.
For ORCiD assistance
Subject Guide
Manuel de la Cruz Gutierrez
Holman Biotech Commons
dmanuel@upenn.edu