ORCID is like a researcher's fingerprint

Have you thought about the visibility and discoverability of your research? Has your name changed or has your work ever been associated with the wrong person with the same name? ORCID is like a fingerprint of the researcher, it can be used to identify the researcher and address the issues mentioned above.  

ORCID, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a free, unique, and persistent identifier (PID) that individuals can use for research, development, and innovation. The free ORCID promotes open science by uniquely identifying each researcher and linking all research outputs to the right researcher, regardless of e.g. publisher, discipline, location, or time. This increases visibility, encourages collaboration, ensures appropriate credits, and supports transparency and knowledge sharing - all key elements of open science.

We also see ORCID as a promoter for open science. The Tampere Universities guidelines (see references below) recommend that researchers obtain and use ORCID in their scientific activities.  

The researcher owns their ORCID, not an organisation. ORCID is a service independent from publishers, database intermediaries, and research organisations. 

How you as a researcher benefit from ORCID:  

1. With an ORCID profile, you can showcase your research to everyone. The profile can be considered as a public CV in which you tell people about your career.  
2. ORCID is permanent, and you can collect information on it throughout your career, it is not dependent on the organisation you work for.
3. ORCID identifies you correctly, reduces confusion with other researchers with the same name, and resolves ambiguities associated with name changes.  
4. With ORCID, your research output (publications, research data, patents, etc.) will be correctly linked to you across services. You get the credit that belongs to you.  
5. The ORCID researcher identifier allows you to showcase not only your publications, but also other activities related to your research and work, such as peer reviews, chairmanships, editorial positions, etc.
6. The ORCID researcher identifier saves your time. The ORCID can be linked to several systems and information on research outputs can be automatically transferred between systems, e.g. TUNICRIS, Scopus, Web of Science, Research.fi, and Crossref.  

If you would like to know more or need help in creating an ORCID researcher identifier or linking it to the TUNICRIS research information system, please contact lib.metrics [at] tuni.fi (lib[dot]metrics[at]tuni[dot]fi).

References:  

ORCID for researchers

Open RDI operation guidelines and principles in the Tampere University of Applied Sciences, 2024 (PDF)

Tampere University’s Open Science Policy, 2024

Tampere University Library’s Researcher's guide to responsible and open science: Researcher profiles

Authors: Johanna Löhönen & Taina Peltonen 
English translation: Piatta Hellevaara