10 Things You Need to Know About ORCID

The following is adapted from a post on the ORCID blog, which was itself adapted from a post on the ImpactStory blog:

Have you ever tried to search for an author, only to discover that he shares a name with 113 other researchers? Or realized that Google Scholar stopped tracking citations to your work after you took your spouse’s surname a few years back?

If so, you’ve probably wished for ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID).

ORCID iDs are permanent identifiers for researchers. Community uptake has increased tenfold over the past year, and adoption by new institutions, funders, and journals is increasing on a daily basis. ORCID may prove to be one of the most important advances in scholarly communication in the past 10 years.

Here are 10 things you need to know about ORCID and its importance to you:

1. ORCIDs protect your unique scholarly identity
2. Creating an ORCID identifier takes 30 seconds
3. ORCID is getting big fast
4. ORCID lasts longer than your email address
5. ORCID supports 37 types of "works," from articles to dance performances
6. You control who can view what information
7. ORCID is glue for all your research services
8. Journals, funders & institutions are moving to ORCID
9. When everyone has an ORCID, scholarship gets better
10. ORCID is open source, open data, and community-driven

To learn more about all this, see the full blog posts at ORCID.org or ImpactStory.org. And don't forget to sign up for your own ORCID iD if you haven't already done so, and make sure you add it to your AAS member profile too!