ORCID: Open Researcher and Contributor ID

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a free persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and that distinguishes you from every other researcher.

You can connect your iD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more. You can use your iD to share your information with other systems, ensuring you get recognition for all your contributions, saving you time and hassle, and reducing the risk of errors. ORCID works closely with Crossref, DataCite, and many other PID organizations to build trusted connections between iDs and other identifiers.

An ORCID iD:

• distinguishes you and ensures your research outputs and activities are correctly attributed to you
• reliably and easily connects you with your contributions and affiliations
• reduces form-filling (enter data once, re-use it often)
• improves recognition and discoverability for you and your research outputs
• is interoperable (works with many institutions, funders, and publishers)
• is persistent (enduring)
• is also FREE

It is also often a requirement when you submit journal articles or grant applications. Currently there are approximately 5 million live ORCID iD's in existence, and this number is growing rapidly.

Adapted from McGill University's ORCID Guide

Creating an ORCID account is both easy and free!  To create your account, click on the link on this guide marked "ORCID Registration Page" in the "ORCID Links" box on this page.  Then follow the prompts to create your account. 

Check out the video below for more tips: