FAQs – ORCID - Identifikátory.cz

A. General

A1. What is an ORCID iD?

ORCID iD stands for “Open Researcher and Contributor IDentifier”.

It primarily refers to a 16-digit combination of numbers (example: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097) that is internationally recognised as a standard for uniquely and permanently identifying all individuals involved in the research and publication processes in science.

ORCID iD is independent of publishers and institutions and can be used permanently by researchers. The permanence of ORCID iD and the availability of the ORCID database is guaranteed by the internationally operating non-commercial organisation of the same name, ORCID Inc.

A2. Who provides an ORCID iD?

ORCID Inc., an independent, global, non-profit initiative, facilitates the registration of ORCID iDs and manages the ORCID Registry. ORCID Inc. ensures the resolution (Resolving) and long-term availability (Persistence) of ORCID iDs and provides a publicly accessible Application Programming Interface (API) for ORCID members.

ORCID Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Delaware, USA.

More information can be found here.

ORCID iDs are not issued by the National ORCID Centre.

A3. Does the National ORCID Centre provide an ORCID iD identifier?

No, the aim of the National ORCID Centre is to promote the use of ORCID iD by researchers in the country and the implementation of ORCID in universities and research institutions in the country. The ORCID iD identifier can be easily registered at https://orcid.org/register.

A4. How do I get an ORCID iD?

Anyone can register an ORCID iD free of charge at https://orcid.org/register. A personal ORCID iD is associated with an ORCID profile and an ORCID record. The ORCID iD is always publicly visible. The visibility of all other information in the ORCID record can be restricted → Visibility settings.

A5. How is the ORCID iD structured?

The ORCID iD consists of a 16-digit combination of digits. As part of the web address, it refers to the ORCID record of the person. Example: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097

A6. What should be considered when creating a profile on an ORCID?

Include all variations of your name, including your maiden name if applicable, in the record.
If possible, link other personal identifiers, such as a Researcher ID or a Scopus Author ID, to your ORCID record. If you grant the appropriate rights, you can enable data exchange between different systems.
Give both DOI registration agencies, CrossRef and DataCite, permission to automatically import your new publications into your ORCID record. The assumption is that the ORCID iD is already listed in the publication metadata.
Use your ORCID iD in your everyday scientific life, especially when contacting publishers and research organisations, in your publications, on your website, in emails, in fundraising, at congresses, in lectures, …
For more tips on how to use your ORCID profile, click here.

A7. What do I need to consider when displaying my ORCID iD?

The ORCID (Inc.) brand guidelines define how to properly use the name, iD, logo, etc. The ORCID iD should be displayed as a complete URI hyperlink. Ideally, the ORCID iD icon should be placed in front of the URI. The icon can be downloaded in different versions via Figshare. The logo and ORCID icon should not be modified or changed.

Example: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097.

The ORCID member logo can be used by all members.

A8. Why should I get an ORCID iD?

An ORCID iD allows researchers to reliably associate their name with their publications, department or funding organisation and to distinguish themselves from other researchers who may be conducting research under the same name in the same field or institution. This contributes to the visibility and visibility of their own scientific contributions. Other benefits → ORCID for researchers

This benefits not only researchers but also institutions: members of one’s own institution can be uniquely and permanently identified without duplicate names, name changes or transliterations posing a problem for correct attribution to the institution. It can be ensured that publications by researchers who belonged to the institution at the time are clearly attributed to that institution.

Further advantages arise when institutions integrate ORCID into their systems via APIs (see → ORCID for institutions).

A9. How is the authenticity of the ORCID iD ensured?

A valid email address is required when registering an ORCID iD. Account verification is done using a link sent via email to this address. The address is stored as the primary address for logging in to the ORCID record.

The authenticity of the iD can be ensured using Oauth if researchers authorise their research institutions to do so after logging into ORCID.

To ensure that you always have access to your personal ORCID record, e.g. after a change of job, we recommend that you store at least two email addresses in your ORCID record. More information on this can be found here.

A10. Can I delete my ORCID iD?

The ORCID profile can be deactivated by the user (record holder) at any time. ORCID will send an email to the user’s main email address requesting consent to deactivation.

Since the ORCID iD is a unique and permanent iD, it cannot be deleted or reassigned. If the account is deactivated, the main email address used and the associated ORCID iD remain stored in ORCID so that it can be reactivated later. No personal information other than the ORCID iD is displayed in the ORCID profile for a deactivated profile. Once an account has been deactivated, it is not possible to create a new account with the same email address. This avoids duplicates. In case of duplicate accounts, a merge should be performed instead of deactivation (see → What happens if someone has two ORCID profiles?).

A11. What happens if someone has two ORCID records?

When registering an ORCID iD, an email address is required. If the same email address is used for a new registration, the person is directly informed that an ORCID iD is already associated with this email address and is then redirected to the original account (ORCID record).

If there are duplicate accounts, these ORCID records can be merged. Since ORCID iDs are persistent identifiers, the iD is not deleted when merging, but only refers to the record listed as the main record. ORCID users can merge records themselves as long as they remember all the login credentials. If they do not, please contact the ORCID support team.

Example:

Jan Novák wants to register for an ORCID iD. He needs to enter his email address when registering. He tries to register using his institution’s email address jan.novak@univerzita.cz

If Jan Novák has already registered for ORCID with this email address, ORCID will notify him and he can log in directly to his ORCID record. If he has forgotten his password, he can request a new password via the “Forgot Password” link. This will be sent to him by email.

If Jan Novák works at a new institution, his e-mail address will change to jan.novak@vyzkumnyustav.cz. He can link his ORCID iD to several email addresses and set his new address as the main one.

Jan Novák has created an ORCID record with both a private and institutional email address. He wants to link his two records. To do so, he logs in to the record he wants to keep and selects Delete Duplicate Record under Account Settings. Here he enters the ORCID iD of the duplicate record or the email address he used to create the ORCID record. He then clicks on the “Delete Duplicate Record” option. The record is not deleted, but is listed as an obsolete account that links to an active ORCID record for Jan Novak (see example: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6151-2200).

B. ORCID functionalities

B1. What is Search & Link?

“Search & Link” is a search and linking tool developed by ORCID member organisations that allows you to easily import publications and other research information from other databases into your ORCID record. The linking process can be activated on the ORCID website or on the organisation’s website.

Here is a more detailed description of how the “Search and Link” tool works and the organisations that offer it.

The “Search and Link” method is the method ORCID recommends to complete an ORCID record. It facilitates the addition of works, ensures that the information about the work is obtained directly from the “original source” so it is accurate, and allows you to add contributor information that is not possible with other methods.

B2. How can I add works from other databases to my ORCID record?

ORCID offers several ways to add works to an ORCID record:

Adding works through Search & Link (“Search & Link”).
Manually add a DOI to a work (“Add DOI”)
Manually adding a work via PubMed ID (“Add PubMed ID”)
Adding a work via BibTex (“Add BibTex”)
Manual addition (“Add manually”)

More information on this topic can be found here.

B3. Can I add additional person identifiers to my ORCID record?

Yes, you can add additional identifiers to your ORCID record, such as ResearcherID or Scopus Author ID.

Some identifiers are linked when you add works using the → Search & Link function. A list of relevant identifiers can be found here.

B4. How do outputs with DOIs automatically get into my ORCID record?

You can instruct Crossref and/or DataCite – established agencies for DOI registration of research publications – to automatically update your record when you publish a publication and/or dataset. Crossref will ask for your permission upon receipt of your submission. Look for an email from Crossref and log in to your ORCID profile when prompted to authorise the update of your record. You can activate the DataCite auto-update feature yourself, regardless of the publishing process. Simply set up your DataCite profile and activate the ORCID auto-update feature. After that, your ORCID record will be automatically updated every time one of your papers is published. Crossref or DataCite will be listed as the source of the information in the record. Your record will often be updated before the item is published!

Learn more about Crossref’s automatic update here.

More about DataCite’s automatic update here.

More about the automatic update to ORCID here.

C. ORCID and organisations

C1. How can I find out about the ORCID service in my institution?

The technical implementation of ORCID alone does not automatically lead to its use in research institutions. Communicating the benefits of ORCID to researchers and promoting its own integration is an important measure to disseminate the identifier in your own institution. ORCID therefore recommends developing a communication concept for your own institution at an early stage. ORCID also offers a range of information materials. The materials are free to use and licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 license.

C2. What affiliation data does ORCID use?

In addition to metadata about publications, the ORCID database also contains information about affiliations, such as employment (Employment section). The ORCID record includes the name and location of the organisation, the date the affiliation began, and the person who added the information to your record.

ORCID uses organisation identifier such as ROR to select organisations. Each organisation is associated with one or more identifiers; the ORCID system automatically returns the most common version of the organisation name associated with the most common identifier in the system. For more information on entering employment, click here.

C3. Why do you want access to your researchers’ ORCID records?

If ORCID users take advantage of the option to confirm your organisation as a “trusted organisation“, you will be able to retrieve their ORCID iD, read their ORCID records, or update their ORCID records through the ORCID API. Only ORCID member organisations can read data whose visibility setting is “trusted parties” (i.e., trusted organisations or individuals) or update ORCID records.

For example, if users give you permission, you can confirm affiliations in the employment section of an ORCID record. The confirmed affiliation information will then appear in the ORCID record.

Only with the consent of the record holder can you exchange data between the ORCID database and your own institution’s systems → see also the API for members and here.

In the settings of the ORCID record, it is possible to find out at any time what permissions each organisation has. The record holder can revoke them at any time.

C4. I have changed my job (institute/institution). What happens to my ORCID record?

To ensure that you always have access to your ORCID record, we recommend that you store at least two email addresses in your ORCID record, such as an institutional email address and a personal email address. This way, you can log in to your ORCID record in multiple ways and ensure you have access to your ORCID record even if you change jobs. For information on how to store a second mailing address in your ORCID record, click here. If you know your password and your ORCID iD, you can log into your ORCID record even if your institutional email address has already been deactivated. Here‘s how it works.

D. National ORCID Centre

D1. Who can use the services of the National ORCID Centre?

NC ORCID services are intended for higher education institutions, research organisations and research funding agencies that integrate ORCID iD into their systems and support the widespread and effective use of this persistent identifier by researchers in the country.

D2. What are the advantages of the National ORCID Centre?

As users of NC ORCID services, institutions have access to the full features of ORCID premium membership at a reduced fee. This includes the ability to take advantage of integration to up to 5 different systems within a single institution. In addition, the Affiliation Manager tool is available to easily add the affiliation of the respective organisation to author profiles. Organisations using NC services also receive priority administrative, technical and legal support from ORCID and NTK.

D3. How much do the NC ORCID services cost?

From 2023-2028, the operation of the NC ORCID will be funded by the CARDS project – i.e. membership fees at ORCID are paid by NTK. The project envisages a gradual increase in the number of organisations. NTK reserves the right to change the level of support during the duration of the project – i.e. if the project funding is not sufficient to cover the full membership fees, a financial contribution from institutions will be required. NTK will inform the organisations of the change in funding by 31 December of the previous year at the latest.

D4. How can my institution start using the services of the National ORCID Centre?

The institutions can start using the NC ORCID services on two dates each year, which will be announced well in advance.

Notify us of your interest by emailing orcid@techlib.cz.

An NC representative will email you all the necessary information and documents.

D5. What is the Premium Member Report and how to interpret this data in a meaningful way?

Organizations using NC ORCID services receive a monthly “Premium Member Report” in which they can view their institution’s ORCID statistics. These reports are stored in Google Drive.

The report consists of the following fields:

Field	Meaning
Email domain counts	The number of unique ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains. If the institution has an active integration, the number of ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains for which the institution is a trusted organisation is also displayed.
Total new registrations	The number of people associated with the institution who have registered a new ORCID iD as part of the iD connection process through the institutional system. This number refers to the month for which the report is submitted.
Total integration users	The number of people in the institution who have used the integration to connect their ORCID iD to an institutional system (e.g. a repository or CRIS system). This number refers to the month of the report.
Integration users	A graphical representation of the number of people who have used integration per day. This graphical representation refers to the month of the report.
Actions taken by users	Information about the actions taken when connecting the ORCID iD to the system (e.g. authorization, new registration, login). This information relates to the month of the report.
Users by country	Countries from which the integration was accessed. This data is derived from the IP address of the computer.

If the institution does not yet have an active integration, the report lists the number of unique ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains.

D6. Termination of the use of ORCID National Centre services

It is possible to stop using the services of the NC ORCID every year. To do so, send the NTK a notice of withdrawal 90 days prior to the renewal date (by 3rd March).

Integration

E1. What steps need to be taken for successful integration?

Read the ORCID technical documentation and the ORCID API.
Request access to the Sandbox to review and optimise the technical implementation in a test environment (ORCID Sandbox).
Decide how you want to use the API and what permissions are required.
Demonstrate your integration and test that best practices are implemented.
Ask for production access credentials.

Possible integration practices are described on the ORCID website

E2. How does the Premium Member API differ from the Basic Member API and the Public API?

The Public API is available to everyone registered in ORCID, and therefore to institutions that are not ORCID members. The Public API can be used to authenticate researchers and to search and retrieve public data from researchers’ ORCID records.

The API for members (Basic and Premium) allows institutions to authenticate researchers, access read-only information (Tursted Data) and, with the researchers’ consent, edit and update their ORCID records.

E3. How does the API work?

In addition to its support service, ORCID provides extensive technical documentation and best practice descriptions for integration.

The ORCID API tutorials cover technical details, e.g.:

E4. Which systems support ORCID integration?

The ORCID API can be implemented in a variety of systems. Many commercial and non-commercial providers support ORCID integration out-of-the-box. ORCID also launched a service provider certification program in 2020. Service provider certification serves to foster closer collaboration between providers and ORCID to promote open standards and interoperability. Currently certified software solutions are prominently listed for the ORCID community on the ORCID website under Service Providers.

E5. Does ORCID provide a test environment to test the member API or to demonstrate registration of the new ORCID iD?

Yes, ORCID provides a so-called Sandbox test server for this purpose. This is a copy of the ORCID registry that contains only test data. It is designed to provide a place to try things out without affecting the actual ORCID iD, especially when working with the ORCID API. Here you can create user accounts and test API calls in the Sandbox without worrying about affecting production data or accidentally spamming researchers.

It is not necessary to be an ORCID member to test the Sandbox member API. Anyone can request access credentials to the member API in Sandbox and try out all the features of the member API.

The Sandbox is also useful for registering ORCID iDs or for demonstrating how to add works to an ORCID record, e.g. during an online workshop.

More information can be found here.

E6. Are sample workflows for integration available?

Yes. This website offers a selection of model workflows for ORCID integration.

F. Legal aspects and data protection

F1. How does ORCID guarantee the protection of personal data?

ORCID complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and places great emphasis on data protection laws. In addition, ORCID’s data protection practices are based on three levels of openness and protection (everyone-public, trusted-restricted access, and only me-private), which are always determined by individual researchers.

A webinar was held on ORCID and GDPR, during which ORCID’s data protection principles were commented on from the perspective of Czech and European law. A recording of the webinar is available at https://doi.org/10.48813/qtb7-rj71.

F2. What are trusted parties (organisations and individuals)?

“Trusted parties” are organisations or individuals who have access to the researcher’s ORCID records. Depending on the type of access, a trusted party may read and/or modify ORCID records.

Revocation of the right to edit or transfer is possible at any time through the ORCID account settings.

F3. Where and for how long does ORCID keep the data?

ORCID retains data for as long as the account is active or as long as necessary to provide services, including reactivation. (ORCID Privacy Policy, Section 9.2). Upon account reactivation, ORCID stores a cryptographically encrypted form of the email (ORCID Privacy Policy, Section 7.0) and ORCID iD. All other information related to this iD (such as name) is removed from the registry.

The data is stored using Rackspace services with backup in Ireland.

F4. Has the ORCID passed an official data protection assessment?

Yes. As part of the ORCID DE project, the German Research Agency commissioned the law firm iRights.Law to conduct a data protection assessment entitled “ORCID from a data protection perspective” which shows the many ways in which ORCID sets high standards in this area. The full assessment is available.

F5. How can I set the visibility of an ORCID record?

The visibility settings for the information stored in an ORCID record can be adjusted at a granular level, e.g. at the level of individual publications. All metadata in the ORCID record can be automatically passed to the systems of the department, research organisation or publisher depending on the visibility setting chosen. The visibility settings can be set to one of three levels: open (“everyone”), trusted institutions or persons (“trusted parties”) or only for the researcher (“only me”). More information can be found here.

All registered ORCID iDs are freely accessible and searchable in the ORCID Registry – the ORCID database.

In general, the individual researcher always retains full control over the data in the ORCID record, due to, among other things, the visibility settings mentioned above. They can also delete their data from their own ORCID record at any time.

F6. What are the legal considerations when using ORCID?

The legal opinion on ORCID published in 2017 was positive:

ORCID supports users’ right to informational self-determination through its privacy features.
Users can view their profile at any time through a user-driven identity management system and determine which content is searchable by third parties, which data is processed and who has access to it.
ORCID is based on an open software system whose source code is available to all.
The ORCID consortium structure consists of different entities and is not profitable.

Information about data protection and privacy settings is provided in the ORCID Privacy Policy.

F7. Which national law and jurisdiction applies to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC)

As an international non-profit organisation, ORCID needs to reduce complexity and has therefore chosen Irish law for all SCCs. Unfortunately, we are unable to adapt SCCs to relevant court decisions in national law. The EU Commission allows ORCID to choose the national law and jurisdiction of an EU member state for SCCs.

F8. Why does the SCC distinguish between controller to controller and controller to processor liability for data processing?

The responsibilities for data processing are clear from the different use of the API and the Member Portal. The API is used with the explicit consent of the record holder to update the data in the ORCID record. In this case, the ORCID (controller) is responsible for the data, but not the processor.

However, the member portal also offers a service – Affiliation Manager – where data is uploaded and stored and then sent to the ORCID registry. In this case, ORCID is the processor.

The Affiliation Manager is not explicitly mentioned in the SCC as it is only a product of ORCID and other features may be developed.

G. Contact persons

G1. Which contact persons are necessary and why?

Both the National ORCID Center and ORCID require contact persons to represent and act on behalf of individual institutions using both NC ORCID and ORCID services. There are different roles and types of communication. The two main types of contact persons are:

Primary Contact Person
Technical Contact Person

It may be necessary to designate a different person for each role. Choosing the appropriate person is up to your institution and depends on how the various support services are set up and which people are involved in the implementation of ORCID. For example, the contact person may work in the library, research office or IT department. The following questions and answers are intended to explain the role of contact persons and to help you select the appropriate person.

G2. What is the role of the main contact person?

The main contact person is able to handle communications related to ORCID in your institution and act on these communications. This should be someone reliable who will handle relevant correspondence and respond. The main contact person represents the institution in matters relating to licensing obligations and membership rights (e.g. voting) and can act on behalf of the institution.

The main contact person will receive official correspondence from ORCID and NTK. This includes the monthly ORCID newsletter (containing links to the institution’s statistics), any important announcements from ORCID, e.g. regarding security or service issues, invitations to events from NTK, announcements of new initiatives or service changes from both NTK and ORCID.

In particular, the main contact person will receive communications from ORCID regarding voting rights associated with the use of ORCID services. Although the voting person is usually the primary contact, he/she may delegate this responsibility to another person if he/she wishes.

The primary contact person must be able to handle all queries regarding the ORCID implementation process at your institution (either responding directly or passing the query on). They must be able to provide information on which institutional systems connect to the ORCID API and which transaction types are allowed at that institution. Tasks may include promoting ORCID to other staff or reporting on ORCID usage to internal or external parties. She/he will be asked to work with ORCID and NTK on various initiatives or evaluation processes.

Types of communications the main contact person will receive:

ORCID monthly newsletter
e-mail messages from ORCID regarding the ballot
e-mail messages from the NTK about events organised by the NTK for users of National Centre services
surveys
requests or information on new initiatives
introductory information for institutions new to ORCID services

Examples of job roles of people who act as the main contact person: research data manager, library research services manager, library digital services coordinator, research support librarian, library systems administrator, open access specialist

G3. What is the role of the technical contact person?

When an organisation starts using ORCID services, it performs an integration to use the ORCID API or connects using a vendor system (e.g. CRIS). Login credentials (username and password) are required to access the API. The technical contact person will be responsible for requesting login credentials, managing API access credentials for applications and describing the integration, and will also be the main contact person for any technical questions from ORCID. For example, he/she will be contacted in case of downtime, API changes, suspicious activity or unusual patterns detected, etc.

For institutions that use a CRIS or a repository to connect to ORCID, the contact person for technical issues is usually the person responsible for these systems. In institutions that develop their own internal integration, this contact person is usually the developer responsible for the preparation and implementation of the integration. In both cases, this role may be taken over by a senior manager or IT manager who oversees the different IT systems.

The technical contact person will be subscribed to the ORCID newsletter. It is strongly recommended that the technical contact person also subscribes to the ORCID-API user group where notifications of changes and planned updates to the API are posted and where other API users can request assistance. The NC ORCID Coordinator (orcid@techlib.cz) should always be the main point of contact for technical enquiries from institutions using the NC ORCID clamp, as this is the starting point from which enquiries are passed on as appropriate.

Examples of communications sent to the contact persons for technical issues:

advance notification of changes or updates to the API
requests for information on the type and version of systems connected to ORCID
enquiries regarding login details

G4. Can we have other contact persons?

Additional contact persons can be added as secondary contacts upon request, who may also receive the ORCID newsletter (please be specific about this request). Institutions sometimes choose to add an internal mailing list of contacts who as a group are collectively responsible for a particular system or process.

G5. How to inform NTK and ORCID of the contact persons in our institution?

After confirming interest in using NC ORCID services, the organisation will be contacted by the NTK to request a primary contact person. That contact person will then receive instructions for institutions using NC ORCID services. The documentation also contains a link to a questionnaire where a contact person for technical matters can be indicated. The institution will then be added to the NC ORCID contacts and the information will be shared with ORCID to set up access to ORCID services and systems.

G6. How to update the contact persons listed?

Since staff may leave the institution, change positions, or take a leave of absence, it is important to update the information when these changes occur. This is so that we can communicate with the correct individuals and avoid interrupting communication with your institution, otherwise your institution could lose important notifications. Please notify us of any changes as soon as possible at orcid@techlib.cz.

G7. How is contact information shared?

ORCID displays a list of organisations using ORCID services on its website and lists a contact person on the institution’s page. An example of how this required information is displayed on the ORCID website can be found here in the entry for Prague University of Economics and Business.

The information to be displayed by ORCID will be completed by the institution first via a questionnaire sent by link to the main contact person when starting to use ORCID services. Subsequently, the information is managed through the contact between NTK and ORCID.

A list of institutions along with their contacts is also displayed on the NC ORCID website: https://identifikatory.cz/cs/sluzby/nc-orcid/

G8. I don’t know who the main contact person and the technical contact person are at our institution. What should I do?

Contact NC ORCID at orcid@techlib.cz.

A. General

B. ORCID functionalities

C. ORCID and organisations

D. National ORCID Centre

E. Integration

F. Legal aspects and data protection

G. Contact persons

A. General

B. ORCID functionalities

C. ORCID and organisations

D. National ORCID Centre

Integration

F. Legal aspects and data protection

G. Contact persons