A group of seven publishers today announced that, during
2016, they will begin requiring authors to use an ORCID identifier (iD) during
the publication process. The American Geophysical Union (AGU), eLife, EMBO,
Hindawi, the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and
the Public Library of Science (PLOS) will join the Royal Society – which
already (as of January 1, 2016) requires its authors to include iDs at
submission – in making this commitment.
ORCID iDs are persistent identifiers for people. Using an
ORCID iD ensures that researchers can be easily and correctly connected with
their research activities, outputs, and affiliations. Over 200 research
platforms and workflow systems collect and connect iDs from
researchers: grant application and publishing systems,
association management systems, and university CRIS and other research
information systems.
Over 1.8 million researchers globally have registered for
an iD, understanding the value a digital name provides in enhancing
discoverability and reducing their reporting paperwork. Some funders have started to require ORCID
iDs as part of the grant proposal process, and in a recent survey researchers
indicated strong support for similar requirements by publishers.
According to Mark Patterson, Executive Director of eLife,
one of the three original organizations behind this initiative: “There is a
pressing need to improve the way researchers are evaluated. ORCID helps by
providing a unique ID for an individual which makes it easier for researchers
to gain recognition for all of their research contributions. eLife is very
happy to be part of this initiative aimed at encouraging broader adoption of
ORCID.”
Veronique Kiermer, Executive Editor of PLOS, another of
the original organizations, adds: “PLOS is committed to providing due credit to
all researchers who contribute to the work we publish and we see ORCID as an
essential means to achieve this.”
While Stuart Taylor, Publishing Director at the Royal
Society - the third organization - says:
“We recognize the great potential value of ORCID to the
research system. We believe that publishers have a key role in promoting
systems that provide support to researchers and to science.”
Laure Haak, Executive Director of ORCID, also welcomes
this
initiative: “This action by publishers will help improve
discoverability - and ultimately recognition - for researchers, and also means
that publishers will use best practice for implementing
ORCID: a win for everyone.”
ABOUT ORCID:
ORCID (
http://orcid.org)
is a community-driven non-profit organization that aims to solve the name
ambiguity problem in research and scholarly communications. ORCID maintains a central registry of unique
identifiers for individual researchers and provides open and transparent processes
for connecting ORCID iDs with persistent identifiers for people, organizations,
and research activities and outputs.
Connecting these identifiers can improve the research and scholarly
discovery process, reduce reporting burdens, increase the efficiency of
research funding, and support sharing and collaboration within the research
community. For more information contact
Laurel Haak, ORCID Executive Director, at
l.haak@orcid.org.
Alice Meadows
Director of Communications, ORCID
orcid.org/0000-0003-2161-3781
