NSPM-33 instructs the federal funding agencies to adopt “digital persistent identifiers” and streamline their reporting to reduce the administrative burden on researchers. All US government agencies that fund research must,
- Submit their plans for ORCID adoption by Dec 31, 2024
- All agencies update their policies regarding ORCID by Dec 31, 2026
- All agencies must implement ORCID adoption by Dec 31, 2027
It is important that UAH is proactive in ensuring all faculty, research staff, and research students are aware of these requirements and take appropriate action.
Rebecca Brothers, Librarian, created an ORCID ID help guide to assist you with creating your account, https://libguides.uah.edu/creating-an-orcid-id Additional information about ORCID ID and NSPM-33 is posted on OSP Website.
WHY YOU NEED AN ORCID ID: BENEFITS FOR FACULTY, RESEARCHERS, AND STUDENT RESEARCHERS
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/authors-update/ten-reasons-to-get-and-use-an-orcid-id
In January 2016, eight publishers and scholarly associations signed an open letter requiring all authors submitting papers to their journals to provide an ORCID iD. By the end of the year, 17 other publishers had signed the letter, with two more signing in March 2017.
As more publishers require authors to have ORCID iDs to publish, it becomes more important for researchers to register for an iD themselves. Dean David Moore, UAH Library and staff, created an ORCID ID help guide, viewable at this link: https://libguides.uah.edu/creating-an-orcid-id
The Q&As below are about ORCID iDs, how they help researchers navigate scholarly communications, and what to expect for the future. Others may find the response to this trend in publishing helpful in planning their work.
Q: What are ORCID iDs?
A: An ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor iD) is a unique digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher. These iDs link you and your scholarly activities - like published articles or dissertations, patents, artistic performances, and even data sets. They also ensure you're not being confused with someone else who might have the same (or a similar) name and keep you connected to your work regardless of events like name changes or changes to your organizational affiliation.
Q: What is the benefit of having an ORCID iD?
A: An ORCID iD is often required when publishing. Once you have one, linking to your past and recent work is simple.
Q: Are UAH researchers expected to have ORCID iDs?
A: ORCID has been around for more than five years, and many major professional organizations, universities, government organizations, and other research-funding bodies support using ORCID iDs. UAH Library supports the publishing recommendations and advocates that all UAH faculty, staff researchers, and student researchers register for an ORCID iD.
We highly recommend that all doctoral and research masters graduate students register for an ORCID iD as soon as they start their program. We want our graduate students - as well as our faculty and staff -- to be well-prepared for publishing their work and ensure they're getting recognition for their scholarly output. Plus, when members of the UAH community have ORCID iDs, it makes it easier to identify University-affiliated research and acknowledge UAH's authors.
Q: Are there common questions or concerns you hear when talking with students and researchers about ORCID?
A: The most common question from grad students is, 'Why register as a grad student? Won't I need a new one after I graduate?' That's one of the huge benefits of ORCID iDs - they follow you throughout your career. You keep the same ID, regardless of any other changes in your research or personal life. That's the greatest benefit of registering with ORCID--only once, better early, but anytime during your career.
Q: Do you expect to see more publishers sign the open letter, and what challenges or opportunities does this present for scholarly communications?
A: Absolutely. The future of scholarly communications will be based on ORCID iDs. More publishers will likely require ORCID iDs leading to an increase in the number of ORCID registrations across disciplines. ORCID is also developing a peer review recognition system, which would be an excellent service to researchers who are active in the peer review process. This would connect individual researchers with their peer review activity, rewarding them for their often time-consuming and non-compensated contribution to scholarly communication. It's also great for building up and creating trusted networks of researchers.
Q: Where can the UAH community find out more about ORCID iDs?
A: I recommend visiting the ORCID library guide: https://libguides.uah.edu/creating-an-orcid-id. It's free to register, and anyone can do so, whether employed or enrolled at UAH.
