Research Guides: ORCID and Other Researcher Identifiers: Home

What are Researcher Identifiers?

A Researcher Identifier is a unique number that identifies a specific author. Why would you want one? With the huge amount of authors, it can be challenging to connect papers by a specific author. Additionally, researchers move to different institutions through out their career which can add an extra layer of complexity when identifying their articles.

Some reasons to use an author identifier include:

Allows your to correctly link to your work, regardless of name or institution changes
Provides an easy way to share your work with other researchers or funders
Gives you a way to separate your work from others who have similar names

Types of Author Identifiers

ORCID
ORCID is one of the most versatile author identifier available. It allows you to link to other accounts like your Scopus ID, Research ID, and LinkedIn. Additionally, some funders request your ORCID ID.
Scopus Author Identifier
This ID is only attached to Scopus.
ResearcherID
This ID is only attached to Thomson Reuters products like Web of Science
arXiv Author IDs
This ID is only used with arXiv, a open repository of e-prints in physics, mathematics, computer science, etc.

Your ORCID Number

Once you sign up for ORCID, you'll be assigned an ORCID ID number. Your number is located underneath your name on your ORCID profile. When asked for an ORCID ID, you can include this number. You can also include it in email signatures, personal website, resumes, etc.