Research Guides: Scholarly Promotion Guide: Researcher Identifiers (IDs)

Librarian

she/her/hers

Contact:

936-294-4567
eowens@shsu.edu
NGL 223D
ORCID: 0000-0001-9520-9314

I'm Creative Commons Certified! I can advise on CC licenses to reuse, remix, and publish open resources.

Subjects: OER: Open (or Free) Educational Materials, Scholarly Communication

Unique Author Identifiers

Even if your name isn't as common as "John Smith," you may be startled to discover how many other researchers in your field have similar names. A 2009 study of author-name ambiguity within the MEDLINE database found that nearly two-thirds of authors had ambiguous names.

The problem is exacerbated in disciplines which cite only first initials, such that "Erin Martinez" and "Edward Martinez" are both cited as "Martinez, E." In addition to commonly occuring names, issues with name confusion may also arise as a result of name changes (e.g., at marriage); transliteration; accents, diacritics, or other special characters in a name; or even simple typos.

Unique identifiers assigned to each researcher helps to disambiguate author names, ensuring that your work can clearly be identified and credited to you.

Author Identifiers to Know

ORCID
Non-profit organization. "Persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities."
ORCID Institutional Sign-On
SHSU is now an ORCID member! Login with your SHSU credentials.
How to assign an ORCID Delegate
Want help populating and maintaining your ORCID profile? Assign Erin Owens, Professor and Scholarly Communications Librarian, as a delegate!

(click on the image to download the infographic in PDF)

ResearcherID via Web of Science (Clarivate)
A Web of Science ResearcherID is a unique identifier that differentiates researchers in the Web of Science. ResearcherID provides the global research community with an index of author information. You can "claim" your ResearcherID to gain more custom control over your Web of Science Researcher Profile.

How to Create a Web of Science Researcher Profile and Login

How to claim an author record

If you previously had a Web of Science account, sign in with your credentials to start using Web of Science. If not, select register and create an account
Search for your name under the Researchers Search tab.
If there is one result that matches your name, select to view publications. If these publications are yours, select 'Claim My Record' to confirm the publications and to receive a Web of Science ResearcherID.

How to merge author records

If, after searching your name, you find multiple results that match your name and publications, select the records that apply and select "Merge Records".
Web of Science will ask you to verify the publications in each profile and then will begin the process of merging the records. This can take some time.

Scopus Author Identifier and Author Profile (Elsevier)
The Scopus author identifier distinguishes you from other authors by assigning you a unique number and then grouping all your documents together.