Almost everyone has an identity online, but it's even more pronounced now that we have social media. Our identity can be positive or negative, depending on what we have shared about ourselves or what others have shared about us. As professionals, you will want to control that identity as much as possible. Your professional life may depend on it. For the past 15-20 years, employers have been checking social media to see what is posted about a prospective employee. They even check your credit and driving history. If you haven’t started taking control of the information out there about you, please start now. You don’t want to be turned down for your first-choice position because something negative is out there about you.
A definition of scholarly identity encompasses an individual's presence, reputation, and the way they are perceived within the academic world, shaped by their training, research interests, expertise, publications, and online presence.
Whether you are publishing to improve your CV for residency or for the love of research and publishing, an ORCID ID will help you.
A little story from my past: When I worked at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, the library kept track of everyone’s publications. Occasionally, we would get a PI (Principal Investigator) whose name was the same as another researcher at a different institution. This time, the name was the same, down to the middle name. Next, we would look at where they worked and what they were researching. Unfortunately, our new PI and the other person had worked in the same places, researching the same thing. We had to sit down with them, and they would pick out which citations were theirs. If that PI would have had an ORCID ID, all we would have needed was that ID. But that’s only if they had attached the ID to every citation they were a part of by adding the citations to their ORCID ID profile. So, you can see, the sooner you have an ORCID ID, the better. Attach it to your articles when you publish, your letters to the editor, your CV, and even your email signature.
What is ORCID ID?
From the ORCiD site: “ORCiD, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. We provide ORCiD to researchers free of charge so that we may realize our vision of connecting all those who participate in research, scholarship, and innovation, ensuring they are uniquely identified and connected to their contributions across disciplines, borders, and time”.
You create a profile on the ORCID website, linking your research activities, publications, grants, and other professional information.
It is very easy to sign up for an ORCID ID—it only takes a few minutes. There are over 16 million people listed on the ORCID site, spanning over 55 countries. You can enter information about Employment, Education and Qualifications, Professional Activities, Funding, and Works.
This is NOT sponsored or purchased by SOM, UIW Libraries or UIW. You can use whatever email and password you want.
I signed up for one, so you can see what it looks like.
PROS:
Author Disambiguation:
ORCID IDs help distinguish researchers with common names, ensuring proper attribution of their work.
Improved Discoverability:
ORCID profiles can increase the visibility of research outputs, making it easier for others to find and connect with a researcher's work.
Lifelong Identifier:
ORCID IDs are designed to remain consistent throughout a researcher's career, even if their name changes, or they move institutions.
Comprehensive Record:
Researchers can use their ORCID profile to create a comprehensive list of their publications, datasets, and other research activities in one place.
Integration with Other Systems:
ORCID integrates with various platforms and databases, allowing for automatic updates and linking of research outputs.
Free and Easy to Use:
ORCID is free for individuals to register and use, and the process is relatively straightforward.
Control over Data:
Researchers have control over the visibility and accessibility of their ORCID profile, choosing what information to share and with whom.
CONS:
Interface Not User-Friendly:
Some researchers find the ORCID interface to be not very user-friendly.
Effort Required for Maintenance:
Researchers need to actively maintain their ORCID profile by adding and updating information, which can be time-consuming.
Not Always Required:
While some publishers and funding agencies require ORCID IDs, not all do, so the benefits may not be universally applicable.
Potential for Data Privacy Concerns:
Some researchers may have concerns about sharing their research data publicly, even with the privacy controls in place.
May Not Be the Primary Search Method:
Searches for a scholar's name or publication title on a search engine like Google may not display ORCID results prominently.
Fees for Institutions:
While free for individuals, institutions may incur costs for ORCID membership.
Below are an article and a chapter that provide more information on this topic:
Aguilar, S. J. (2018, July 26). Shaping a scholarly identity that helps you do what you want in academe (opinion). Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/07/26/shaping-scholarly-identity-helps-you-do-what-you-want-academe-opinion
Buljung, B. (2022, July 1). Scholarly identity. In Buljung, B., Bongiovanni, E., & Li, Y. (Eds.) Navigating the research lifecycle for the modern researcher. Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.pub/researchlifecycle/chapter/chapter-x-scholarly-identity/
Should you wish for me to present this topic, or any other, to your group or to you individually, please don't
hesitate to reach out. I would be glad to assist.
Happy Searching!
Dawn Field, Your UIWSOM Librarian