What is ORCID and why does it matter to Open Access? 

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a personal identifier that helps to make sure that work gets attributed to the correct person. To learn more about ORCID and to get started with your own, visit ORCID @ The University of Iowa.

What does this have to do with Open Access?

ORCID is founded on principles of open access and works to build networks between researchers through expanding access. They back this up in practice, since their own software is open access. 

Have you ever started searching for an article by searching an author’s name only to find in the results that there are multiple authors by the same name, or can’t tell if the author of two papers is the same person because their associated institution has changed? By creating unique searchable ID’s for researchers, ORCID helps overcome both of these problems. If properly maintained, ORCID records can also be full lists of work that a researcher has done. If you can’t access a paper because it is behind a paywall, check the author’s ORCID! You may find they wrote a similar paper that is published in an open access journal.

Want even more information? Watch this short video for more explanation. If you are ready to get started, use the UI ORCID Planter tool to claim your ID today!