What is an ORCID?

ORCID stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID. The ORCID initiative creates persistent, unique identifiers for researchers. Layered above this core service is a commitment to linking identifiers with funders, publishers, and institutions. ORCID can link with other types of identifiers, such as DOIs (digital object identifiers for papers and data), to associate your unique ORCID with your unique scholarly contributions.

Why should I have an ORCID?

• If you have a common name, ORCID makes it easy for you to distinguish your research from their research.
• If you ever change your name, you can establish consistency because your ORCID won't change.
• Funding agencies such as the NSF and NIH are partnering with ORCID, and you can now add that identifier to grant applications.
• Journals and publishers want you to use an ORCID for the first author (and hopefully all other authors) so they can identify which publications belong to you. This helps you: When people look up your work, it means they may want to read your stuff.
• ORCID partnerships with institutions can help us figure out what your path is after graduation (if you are an undergrad or graduate student) or your postdoctoral appointment — if you stay in academia. This helps us figure out what worked and what didn't for you.

What about my privacy?

Information about ORCID's privacy policy and how to customize your profile to protect your online brand are here:

• ORCID privacy policy
• ORCID visibility settings (for your profile)

Will I have to update my ORCID manually every time a new publication comes out?

If you primarily publish in the journal literature, probably not. During your initial setup, you can claim publications in the Web of Science and on several other database platforms (e.g., PubMed, CrossRef). You can also visit the Astrophysics Data System's new Bumblebee interface if you're in astronomy and start claiming from there. See the Adding Info to Your ORCID tab for more.

Once you have done the initial claiming process, there are several ways to auto-update your profile. Please visit ORCID's documentation on their auto-update functionality for more information.

If you publish books and chapters, you will probably need to update manually at least on occasion.

Does ORCID support non-Latin scripts?

ORCID is compliant with Unicode characters, so yes — it should!

Some databases don't have a high level of support for non-Latin characters. If a database doesn't use non-Latin characters and you import from that database, the article information in ORCID won't be in your non-Latin script, either. If this is a concern for you, please contact us so we can put you in touch with a librarian. 

How do I add my institution to my ORCID?

Affiliations selected from the pick-list in the ORCID interface are linked with a Ringgold identifier (a specific identifier for Yale) automatically. Affiliations added via the API should use the <disambigated-organization> field to include the Ringgold identifier. If you are not using the API, the association should happen automatically.

In each case, ORCID recommends that you choose the parent organization (and not your division or department) as the affiliation. Department and title information may be provided in a separate field.

The Yale Ringgold 5755 is the ISNI 0000 0004 1936 8710, which is associated with the following names:

• AMEEL
• Collegiate school of Connecticut
• Collegium yalense
• New Haven Yale University
• Oral History of American Music
• Universiṭat Yel
• Uniwersytet Yale
• Yale College
• Yale University
• Yaleská univerzita
• 耶鲁大学