ORCID
What is ORCID?
The abbreviation ORCID stands for „Open Researcher and Contributor ID“. It is an internationally recognized code, available free of charge, that provides researchers with a digital identity. It allows publications to be uniquely linked to this identity. The number is platform-independent and accompanies an author throughout their entire career. An ORCID iD consists of 16 digits. ORCID was initiated by the Open Researcher Contributor Identification Initiative, a non-profit organization founded by a global network of research organizations, funders, academic publishers, and other members of the scientific community.
Heidelberg University Library is a member of the Deutschlandkonsortium ORCID DE.
Please use your ORCID iD in all your scientific activities—especially when communicating with publishers and funding agencies, at conferences, on presentation slides, on your website, in your email signature, and wherever possible in online and research forums.
What are the advantages of using an ORCID iD?
ORCID helps to improve the visibility of your research, provides more networking opportunities and saves you a lot of time and effort.
An ORCID iD is free, created in approximately 30 seconds and lasts longer than an email address. No matter if you change your home institution or your name, the ORCID remains unchanged. An ORCID iD accelerates the publication process because standard information can be automatically transferred by means of the ORCID iD.
Your publications are clearly attributed to you and can be found at any time, even if they are not listed in databases such as Web of Science or Scopus.
In addition, an ORCID ID ensures that your research results and activities can automatically be correctly assigned. Not only you, but more importantly other scientists can therefore easily gain an overview of your research activities. Your publication list at ORCID is always up-to-date, as long as you report your publications to the University bibliography and you have linked your ORCID record with the university bibliography (see ORCID in the university bibliography heiBIB below).
How can I get an ORCID or create a profile?
Registration is, of course, voluntary. You can do it easily and quickly:
- Go to the homepage: ORCID (English interface - link at the right).
- There you will find a three-step guide under the heading “Distinguish yourself in three steps.”
- The first step is to register and receive your ORCID iD. A profile is automatically created at the same time. Your name and ORCID iD will appear in the profile as basic information. After a few minutes, you will receive a confirmation email—click the link provided to complete the registration process.
- In the second step, you have the (optional) opportunity to complete your profile by adding additional information. Privacy settings are available for each item, allowing you to decide what is public, what is visible to selected individuals, and what is private. In the left-hand column, you can enter previous names (e.g., maiden name), your home country, keywords, links to your website, and your email address. You can also generate a QR code linked to your ORCID record, which can be printed and used, for example, on poster presentations. In the middle column, under “Biography,” you can add details about your education, employment history, funding sources, and a list of your publications (“Works”).
How do my publications get into my ORCID record?
ORCID offers a variety of data sources that allow you to automatically import works into your ORCID record. For example, you can search for publications via BASE, Scopus, or Europe PubMed Central. You can also find works by using an ISSN or DOI. When adding a publication, you can decide for each entry whether it should be visible only to you, to selected institutions, or to the general public. This gives you flexible control over how your profile is managed and displayed.
ORCID in the University Bibliography heiBIB
The individual author profiles in the University bibliography heiBIB—available to all researchers at the university—provide a direct link from the heiBIB profile pages to the corresponding ORCID record.
- How can I request that publications from my ORCID record be included in heiBIB?
You have the option to link your ORCID record to heiBIB. This ensures that all publications in your ORCID record are included in the University bibliography, and any updates or new entries are automatically reported and added. To use this service, please visit the heiBIB page and click on the button “Create or Connect your ORCID iD.” A pop-up window will appear. If you are already registered with ORCID, simply log in using the “Sign in” link and then select the “Institutional account” option, using your usual library login credentials (UniID).
- How can I display my publications recorded in heiBIB in my ORCID record?
You need to export the data from your heiBIB profile using the corresponding button in BibTeX format. You can then import these records into your ORCID account following the instructions provided on the ORCID website (link at the right).