How to create ORCID ID: a step by step guide

ORCID iDnoun

a free, unique and permanent 16 digit number that identifies you as a researcher, linked to an online record of your education, work and publications.

ORCID stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID. It is run by a global not-for-profit organisation of the same name, which is paid for by its member organisations, such as universities, publishers and funders. Researchers do not pay. ORCID's own pages say the iD is free of charge to researchers, and that anyone who takes part in research can register one for themselves.

The idea is simple. Names are a poor way to tell researchers apart. Many people share a name, the same person may appear as "Gurpreet Kaur", "G. Kaur" and "Kaur, G." in different papers, and some people change their name during their career. A number does not have these problems. Your ORCID iD stays the same, ORCID says, even if your name changes or you move to a different organisation, subject or country.

Gurpreet asked the obvious question. "Is it compulsory?" Dr. Sandhu's answer was the honest one: it depends on who is asking. Many journals now ask for it when you submit, some only from the corresponding author and some from every author. The guide for authors tells you, which is one more reason to read it before you submit, as we explain in how to write a cover letter for journal submission.

In India there is one more reason. IRINS, the research profile system that INFLIBNET, a centre of the UGC, offers to Indian institutions, is built to pull in your publications using academic identifiers such as ORCID, Scopus and Google Scholar IDs. If your university uses IRINS, an ORCID iD helps your faculty profile fill itself in. Some universities have also asked their teachers to get one before registering on VIDWAN, the national database of experts. Rules differ between institutions, so ask your research cell or library what yours expects.

The steps below follow the registration guide published by Charles University's open science team; the form can change a little over time, but the parts stay the same.

1. Go to the real site.Open orcid.org yourself and click "Sign in / Register", then "Register now". Do not use a link from an unknown email or website.
2. Enter your name and email.Type your given name and family name, and your main email address. Charles University recommends a private email, one you will still have after you leave the university.
3. Add a backup email.ORCID strongly recommends a second email, so you can get back into your account if you lose access to the first.
4. Create a password.The form shows the rules your password must meet. Save it somewhere safe.
5. Add your current affiliation.Start typing your university's name and choose it from the list, with your department and role, for example PhD scholar.
6. Choose the visibility.This decides who can see your record. We look at the options in a later section.
7. Accept the terms and finish.Agree to the terms of use, complete the "I am not a robot" check, and click "Complete registration".
8. Verify your email.ORCID sends a message to your main email. Click "Verify email address". If it does not arrive, check your spam folder or use "Resend verification email".

Before it creates a new iD, the form may show existing records with names like yours and ask whether one of them is you. Read the list carefully. If you made an account years ago and forgot, use that one instead of making a second.

Gurpreet finished in eight minutes. The verification email took one more. Her record was live, with her name, her university and a number she had never seen before.

An ORCID iD has 16 characters in four groups of four, separated by hyphens. ORCID's own example, made up for a fictional professor, is 0000-0002-1825-0097. Every iD looks like this.

• The first 15 are digits. Most iDs start with 0000, so do not worry if yours does too.
• The last one is a check character. ORCID calculates it from the other 15, so a mistyped iD is easy to catch. It can be any digit from 0 to 9, or the letter X, which stands for 10.
• An X at the end is normal. ORCID's FAQ says plainly that iDs ending in X are valid and correct.

When you share it, use the full web address: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097, with your own number in place of the example. ORCID's display guidelines call this the preferred format, because anyone can click it and land on your record.

Then put it everywhere you appear as a researcher. Gurpreet added hers to the journal's submission form, her CV, her email signature and her department profile page. When you submit, type it carefully or, better, let the submission system connect to ORCID and fill it in for you.

A new ORCID record is almost empty. It becomes useful when it lists your education, your work and your publications. Gurpreet had no papers yet, so Dr. Sandhu opened her own record to show the ways works can be added.

1. Search and link. In the Works section, click Add, then "Search & link". You will see a list of databases ORCID can connect to, such as Scopus and Crossref. Choose one, authorise it, and pick the papers that are yours.
2. Import a BibTeX file. If your papers are in a reference manager or on Google Scholar, export them as a BibTeX file and import it.
3. Add one by hand. For a conference paper or book chapter the databases miss, type in the details yourself, with the DOI if it has one.

There is also a way to keep the record up to date without lifting a finger. When a publisher includes your ORCID iD in the information it sends to Crossref for a new paper's DOI, Crossref sends a request to your ORCID inbox. If you give it permission, Crossref adds future papers that carry your iD to your record automatically, from any publisher. Older papers without your iD still need search and link, which is one more reason to give your iD at every submission.

In the name section of your record you can also fill in a published name, the form of your name you want used when you are credited, and "also known as" names, the other ways your name has appeared. Dr. Sandhu has published as "Navdeep Sandhu" and "N. Sandhu", and both sit on her record.

ORCID lets you decide who sees each part of your record. You choose a default when you register, and you can change the setting for each item later.

A trusted organisation is a university, publisher or funder that you have allowed to connect to your record, usually by clicking "Authorize access" when its website asks. Depending on what you approve, it can read your iD and items marked for trusted parties, and add items such as a verified employment entry. You can also name a trusted individual, such as a colleague who helps keep your record tidy, who can edit it but cannot change anything that needs your password.

The point of ORCID is to be found, so keep your publications and affiliation visible to everyone. Gurpreet did, and set only her personal email to "only me".

Six months later, Gurpreet's junior Harmeet came to her worried. He had found two ORCID records with his name: one he made in his master's, and one he made last week. This is the most common ORCID mistake, and the easiest to fix.

For duplicates, ORCID's FAQ gives a direct fix. Sign in to the record you want to keep, go to Account Settings and choose "Remove duplicate record". Enter the email address or iD of the extra record and its password. The extra record's email moves to your main record and everything else on the extra record is deleted, so copy anything you need first. If you cannot get into the duplicate's email, write to ORCID support with your name, your iDs and the email addresses.

Once the paperwork is done, the real work starts again: finding a good home for the paper, which we cover in how to choose the right journal, and surviving peer review. Gurpreet submitted her millet biscuit paper that evening, with her new iD in the box. When it is published, it will carry that number, and nobody will mistake her for any other G. Kaur.