What is an ORCID ID - and why do you need one?

An ORCID is a number unique to each researcher.  Over 6.5 million researchers now have an ORCID. Registering for an ORCID means that your research outputs are easily connected and identified to you.

Many publishers and research councils now ask for an ORCID number. You will see reference to ORCID in databases such as SCOPUS. Anyone who participates in research should have an ORCID number to go alongside their name in research outputs. Having an ORCID may be mandatory for REF submissions in the future. 

Learn more on Researcher Academy

Find out more about ORCID in this Researcher Academy module: 10 reasons to get and use an ORCID ID

Not signed up for Researcher Academy yet? Find out more.

How do I create an ORCID ID?

Registering for ORCID is free. See this JISC ORCID guide for more information. Go to the ORCID website to register.

Your ORCID profile

You will receive your identifying number and have access to the ORCID Registry. This will enable you to upload your research record and link to your publications so that others can view your research profile.

As you go through your career as a researcher or academic, the ORCID Registry provides you with the opportunity to showcase your research outputs on your profile. 

To see how useful this is have a look at the author's listed in the University's Repository UBIR - click on the ORCIDlink and, you will then see the profile of the author.  

Making the most of ORCID

Your ORCID profile is an opportunity for you to showcase your research outputs so far. As well as your publications, you can add details relevant to your career, such as employment history, membership of professional associations, etc.

Make you sure select the green 'everyone' setting in each section so that your details are discoverable by other researchers.

This includes your email settings, which you can edit.

ORCID and REF Submission

Universities are being asked to voluntarily submit the number of staff with ORCID identifiers. This may become mandatory in the future. To make the REF submission more efficient and accurate, The University now has a REF staff database which harvests details of publications from staff registered with an ORCID direct from the ORCID website.

It is critical that the publications on your ORCID profile are set to public view, as only these publications will be included. 

MyHR

Once you have registered for an ORCID and completed your profile add your ORCID number to MyHR.

Login to MyHR

• Click my Data Held at HESA

• Add your ORCID identifier

• Enter a Date for new details

• Click Save

If you have any problems adding your ORCID details to MyHR, email HR@bolton.ac.uk with the subject ORCiD number

Your ORCID profile and our UBIR repository

With the new platform for our UBIR repository (Esploro) you can now link your Researcher Profile and your ORCID account. Doing this will enable new works added to your UBIR profile to automatically appear on the Works section of your ORCID profile. Library staff will be able to pull your previous works from your ORCID and add them to the repository to ensure your Researcher Profile publications list is as complete as possible.

In order for the two systems to talk to one another, you need to authorise the link between them by following the steps below:

1. Go to UBIR and click Sign In to log in to the system and then click on your initials in the top-right and select Your Profile.
2. You are now on your Researcher Profile page. Click on Edit Profile.
3. Where it says Global IDs there will be a link which says Register or connect your ORCID ID. Click on the link.
4. You will then be asked to log in to your ORCID account (with your ORCID ID number or registered email and ORCID password, not your University credentials).
5. After logging in to ORCID, you will be asked to authorise the connection between the two systems. Click Authorize access to confirm the link.
6. You will then be returned to your Researcher Profile and the link will be established.

If you have already added your ORCID account to your profile but have not authorised the link between the systems, you can do so by following the steps above.

If you need any help linking the two systems or would like us to add your previous works to your UBIR profile using the data from your ORCID profile, please contact ubir@bolton.ac.uk