Reasons to Use ORCID iD
Name Ambiguity
There may be multiple people in your field with a similar name as you, making it difficult to find you. You may have used a different name during your career or have a name that’s been translated into other languages. Names can change for various reasons, such as marriage, and names can shift depending on language conventions, such as family names being put first in certain parts of the world.
An ORCID iD bypass those barriers, linking your work to you specifically and making your work easier to find. This helps prevent a mistaken identity and ensures you get the credit for your work. When you create an ORCID iD, you can add other names or name variations to your account.
Visibility
When your work is easier to find, it can increase your visibility, allowing potential funders, collaborative partners, and other scholars to discover you. An ORCID iD can lead to more potential opportunities for you and can help bolster your academic reputation. It lists all of your work in one, easy to find place: your grants, scholarship, peer reviews, projects, etc.
Time Saving
You can link your activities, awards, affiliations, etc., to your ORCID iD. You can then just give your ORCID iD when prompted during manuscript submissions, grant proposals, reporting, etc., instead of filling out a number of forms, which takes up valuable time. Repetitive data entry can be an onerous process especially when doing it across several platforms.
Requirements
Some publishers and journals now require ORCID iDs for authors: the manuscript submission workflow may ask for your ORCID iD. You can find a list of those requiring it here. Some of these include PLOS, IEEE, Wiley, Springer, etc.
Funders may also require ORCID iDs. You can find out more information here.
Integrations
Some services integrate ORCID iD, allowing them to share data. One such resource is Publons, which allows you to sync your peer review history to your ORCID account. You can also connect other services to your account, such as Scopus or ResearcherID. Some services, such as Crossref or DataCite can automatically update your profile for you.
To find out more about Publons, follow this link.
It's Free
There are no fees associated with registering for an ORCID iD! Instead, membership dues are paid by participating organizations. For example, Eugene McDermott Library and the Office of Research pays the dues to ORCID on behalf of the university.
ORCID iDs are not tied to your university or wherever you work: they can move with you wherever you go in your career. You maintain complete control over your record. Just make sure to update your information when needed.