What are author identifiers and why do I need one?
Author identifiers, also called researcher identifiers, are unique numbers assigned to an individual. Their purpose is to distinguish between researchers, with the goal of associating the correct individual with all his or her published work. This is particularly important for researchers sharing the same name with other researchers or a researcher who has published under more than one name. A researcher working in two or more different fields of study will also benefit; others may wrongly assume the work has been done by different researchers who share the same name.
Several author identifiers exist, some of which you can request and others which are assigned to you. The chart below outlines the information on three different identifiers. You may have an identifier from each of these services which will be unique to that service. Some services will allow you to associate identifiers from other services with your profile.
The UW Libraries recommend establishing an ORCID (Open Researcher & Contributor ID). The process is simple; follow the instructions at: http://www.orcid.org. During the registration process you have the option to associate your published works with your ID.
Comparison of Author Identifiers*
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ORCID
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ResearcherID
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Scopus Author Identifier
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What is it?
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a free persistent digital identifier for a researcher
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a free alphanumeric author identifier, online community, and search system
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an automatically generated identifier within Scopus
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Affiliated services
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open, non-profit community effort with multiple partnerships
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Web of Science (Thomson Reuters)
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Scopus
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Create your own profile?
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Yes
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Yes
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No, but you can request changes
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How do I add publications to my profile?
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Import from partner organizations or enter manually
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Import from Web of Science or EndNote, or upload an RIS file
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You can request changes
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Features
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Add other identifiers, such as ResearcherID or Scopus Author Identifier
Link to other systems or profiles, such as Google Scholar or LinkedIn
You choose what information to make public
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Provides citation metrics for publications in Web of Science
You choose what information to make public
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Provides citation metrics
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Benefits
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You can manage your research activities and author identifiers in one place
Grant and manuscript submissions: several publishers and funding organizations have implemented or are planning to implement ORCID
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You can organize and track publications
Allows others to easily locate your publications in Web of Science databases
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Ensures that your publications are properly attributed in Scopus
Allows others to easily locate your publications in Scopus
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Where can I get it?
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Register for free at ORCID
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Register for free at ResearcherID
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Check profile at Scopus
Follow these instructions for requesting corrections to your profile
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*Adapted from information created by the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Watch a video about managing your author profile in Scopus.
International Standard Name Identifier
One other author identifier you should know about is ISNI, the International Standard Name Identifier. This identifier can be assigned to researchers, inventors, writers, artists, visual creators, performers, and others. Individuals may not request ISNIs for themselves. Data can come from a variety of sources, including publishers. You can search the ISNI database to see if an identifier has been assigned to you and there is a mechanism for reporting corrections.