FAQ for ORCID

FAQ for the use of ORCIDs

Information on the use of ORCID at Helmholtz Centres

Authors: Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration, Hub Earth and Environment
(https://earth-and-environment.helmholtz-metadaten.de)

Who is this document for?

This document is aimed at everyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the publication of research data. This includes, for example, researchers, laboratory staff, data stewards, repository and IT teams, as well as the management of the research centres.
(earth-and-environment.helmholtz-metadaten.de)

It addresses questions regarding the practical implementation and integration of ORCID in the data infrastructures of the Helmholtz Centres.

What is ORCID?

An open, globally used, person-based persistent identifier (16 digits, expressed as a URI) that uniquely identifies individuals and links them to their contributions/affiliations. (ORCID, support.orcid.org)

What is ORCID used for?

For the unambiguous naming of people in publications, datasets, grants, peer review, etc.; for linking and automation in workflows, and to avoid name ambiguities. (support.orcid.org)

What do we recommend for implementation in the Helmholtz Association?

We recommend the following for implementing ORCID:

Everyone should:

  • register for an ORCID iD if they do not yet have one

  • keep their ORCID metadata up to date

  • share relevant data with their centre

  • publish their ORCID as part of their contact details, e.g. in their email signature

Researchers who produce data should:

  • record ORCID iDs for all named persons – first look them up in the ORCID registry

Organisations should:

  • establish measures and incentives so that all staff register with ORCID and keep their metadata current

  • keep a record of their staff’s ORCID iDs and share them with the RDM teams

Data infrastructures should:

  • record an ORCID iD for every person

  • treat ORCID metadata as the primary “source of truth” and update their own metadata accordingly

  • inform people about incorrect ORCID metadata or ask for permission to update it

Which organisation is behind ORCID?

ORCID is a non-profit organisation with community governance by a Board of Directors.
(ORCID)

Why is the use of ORCID important for the Helmholtz Association?

For FAIR interoperability and consistent person references across all data infrastructures; the HMC wiki explicitly recommends ORCID as the standard and “source of truth”. (earth-and-environment.helmholtz-metadaten.de)

Where and how is an ORCID iD registered?

Individually at orcid.org/register; registration takes less than one minute. Only the person themself is allowed to create their iD.
(ORCID, support.orcid.org)

Who is responsible for maintaining ORCID records?

Primarily the person themself (full control over visibility and sharing). With consent, trusted organisations (e.g. universities, publishers) can add/update data; likewise trusted individuals (delegates).
(support.orcid.org)

Where and how do I edit ORCID records?

After logging into your ORCID account (edit your profile) or by authorising a trusted organisation/individual, who can then update specific fields for you (e.g. affiliations, works).
(support.orcid.org, ORCID)

How do I find out the ORCID iD of a particular person?

Search by name/DOI at orcid.org; ideally, you obtain a verified iD directly via ORCID login in the respective system. Note: content may be partially hidden for privacy reasons. (ORCID, support.orcid.org)

How can I find out which person is behind a particular ORCID iD?

Open the ORCID profile page for the iD; it shows the name and – depending on visibility settings – additional information (affiliations, works). The iD label is always public; the person controls the content.
(support.orcid.org)

Who “owns” an ORCID record?

The individual: ORCID emphasises “You own your ORCID iD and record”; visibility and permissions are controlled by the holder of the iD.
(ORCID)

Are there alternatives to ORCID?

Yes: ResearcherID/Web of Science, Scopus Author ID, ISNI, Wikidata ID. For Helmholtz RDM, however, the HMC wiki still recommends ORCID as the standard.
(earth-and-environment.helmholtz-metadaten.de)

What are the benefits of using ORCID for me personally?

Less manual typing (auto-import/updates), clear recognition of your contributions, unambiguous attribution in cases of name similarity, and full control over visibility and sharing.
(support.orcid.org, ORCID)

How should ORCID be recorded in the schema.org, DataCite, ISO 19XX and DCAT schemas?

Here is a compact overview plus working example snippets for schema.org, DataCite, ISO 19115/-3 and DCAT.

Principle: Always store ORCID as a full https URI (e.g. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097), not just the 16-digit number.
(support.orcid.org

)

Use Case: schema.org (JSON-LD)

Where?

Usually on the person. Proven pattern:

@id of the person = ORCID URI (recommended)

  • additionally identifier as PropertyValue or sameAs pointing to the ORCID page.
    (Schema.org

, GitHub

  • )

Example (Dataset + Person):

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Dataset", "name": "Example dataset", "creator": [{ "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097", "name": "Mae Jemison", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ORCID", "value": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097" }, "sameAs": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097" }] }

(Background on identifier/PropertyValue & practical guides: see science-on-schema.org.)
(GitHub)

Use Case: DataCite (Schema 4.5, DOI metadata)

Where?

For persons in creators[] or contributors[] → nameIdentifiers[] with nameIdentifierScheme="ORCID" and schemeUri="https://orcid.org". (Affiliation is a separate field in DataCite and is usually free text.)
(datacite-metadata-schema.readthedocs.io

)

Example (JSON):

{ "creators": [{ "name": "Jemison, Mae", "nameType": "Personal", "givenName": "Mae", "familyName": "Jemison", "nameIdentifiers": [{ "nameIdentifier": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097", "nameIdentifierScheme": "ORCID", "schemeUri": "https://orcid.org" }] }] }

Example (XML):

<creators> <creator> <creatorName>Jemison, Mae</creatorName> <nameIdentifier schemeURI="https://orcid.org" nameIdentifierScheme="ORCID">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097</nameIdentifier> </creator> </creators>

(Notes & auto-update/linking with ORCID)
(support.datacite.org

)

Use Case: ISO 19115-1 / ISO 19115-3 (XML)

Where?

  • Modern (19115-1 Amd. 1, 19115-3 encoding): on the party via cit:CI_Individual → cit:partyIdentifier as mcc:MD_Identifier with code = ORCID URI (and codeSpace = https://orcid.org).
    (icsm-au.github.io

, schemas.isotc211.org

  • )

  • Legacy (19139:2007 / 19115:2003): as gmd:CI_OnlineResource/gmd:linkage/gmd:URL under gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty/gmd:contactInfo.
    (wiki.esipfed.org

, geoapps.nj.gov

  • )

Example (19115-3 / cit/mcc/gco namespaces):

<mdb:MD_Metadata xmlns:mdb="https://schemas.isotc211.org/19115/-3/mdb/2.0" xmlns:cit="https://schemas.isotc211.org/19115/-3/cit/2.0" xmlns:mcc="https://schemas.isotc211.org/19115/-3/mcc/1.0" xmlns:gco="https://schemas.isotc211.org/19103/-/gco/1.0"> <mdb:contact> <cit:CI_Responsibility> <cit:role> <cit:CI_RoleCode codeListValue="pointOfContact"/> </cit:role> <cit:party> <cit:CI_Individual> <cit:name><gco:CharacterString>Mae Jemison</gco:CharacterString></cit:name> <cit:partyIdentifier> <mcc:MD_Identifier> <mcc:code><gco:CharacterString>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097</gco:CharacterString></mcc:code> <mcc:codeSpace><gco:CharacterString>https://orcid.org</gco:CharacterString></mcc:codeSpace> </mcc:MD_Identifier> </cit:partyIdentifier> </cit:CI_Individual> </cit:party> </cit:CI_Responsibility> </mdb:contact> </mdb:MD_Metadata>

(The partyIdentifier extension was introduced with Amd. 1; older schemas use the online-resource workaround.)
(icsm-au.github.io

, schemas.isotc211.org

)

Example (19139/2003 style, fallback):

<gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty xmlns:gmd="http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gmd" xmlns:gco="http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gco"> <gmd:individualName><gco:CharacterString>Mae Jemison</gco:CharacterString></gmd:individualName> <gmd:contactInfo> <gmd:CI_Contact> <gmd:onlineResource> <gmd:CI_OnlineResource> <gmd:linkage><gmd:URL>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097</gmd:URL></gmd:linkage> <gmd:name><gco:CharacterString>ORCID</gco:CharacterString></gmd:name> </gmd:CI_OnlineResource> </gmd:onlineResource> </gmd:CI_Contact> </gmd:contactInfo> </gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty>

(wiki.esipfed.org

, geoapps.nj.gov

)

Use Case: DCAT / DCAT-AP (RDF/Turtle)

Where?

  • Recommended: Model the person as a resource with the ORCID URI and reference them via dct:creator/dct:contributor.

  • Alternative/additional: Use adms:identifier on the agent if you also want to document the identifier plus scheme. Guidance on dct:identifier vs. adms:identifier is given in the DCAT(-AP) documents.
    (W3C

, ec-jrc.github.io

  • )

Example (ORCID URI as agent IRI):

@prefix dcat: <http://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#> . @prefix dct: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/> . @prefix foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/> . @prefix schema: <http://schema.org/> . <https://example.org/dataset/123> a dcat:Dataset ; dct:title "Example dataset" ; dct:creator <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097> . <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097> a foaf:Person ; foaf:name "Mae Jemison" ; schema:affiliation <https://ror.org/05x7n8h10> .

Example (with additional adms:Identifier):

@prefix adms: <http://www.w3.org/ns/adms#> . @prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> . <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097> a foaf:Person ; foaf:name "Mae Jemison" ; adms:identifier [ a adms:Identifier ; skos:notation "0000-0002-1825-0097" ; adms:schemaAgency "ORCID" ] .

(W3C

)

Practical tips

  • Always use the full https URI form: https://orcid.org/####-####-####-####.
    (support.orcid.org

  • )

  • Do not rely on a free-text field for ORCID: wherever possible, use login/verification or controlled fields. (DataCite/ORCID interoperability & auto-update benefit from this.)
    (support.datacite.org

  • )

  • Consistency: use the same form (URI) across all schemas – this simplifies crosswalks (e.g. DataCite → DCAT-AP).
    (ec-jrc.github.io

)