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Researcher profiles and ORCID

Maximise the visibility of your research outputs by discovering how to establish a researcher profile.

About ORCID

What is ORCID?

ORCID is an open, non-profit and community driven initiative.

The 16-digit Open Researcher and Contributor ID, or ORCID is a persistent and unique digital identifier which enables researchers and institutions to maintain a consolidated record of all of their research activities. It also facilitates eligible individuals and organisations in tracking research expertise globally, without naming ambiguity.

ORCID IDs are increasingly used as a search term/method for enhanced research visibility and discoverability.

Find out more at ORCID at RMIT (access via RMIT Researcher Portal)

Benefits of ORCID

The benefits of ORCID include:

  • Interoperability - Interoperability across publisher submission systems, funding agencies, research repositories, research institutions and supporting automated updating of ORCID researcher profiles (e.g. via databases such as Web of Science and Scopus).
  • Name ambiguities eliminated - Elimination of name ambiguities arising from differing name formats, change of names, similar names at the same institution, names with diacritical marks and names appearing in different writing systems.
  • Comprehensive list of outputs - Facilitation of a comprehensive listing of research outputs in one place, including datasets, peer review activities and more.
  • Discoverability of work - Improves discoverability by associating your identity to the whole range of your research outputs (articles, citations, datasets, equipment, media stories, experiments, patents, and notebooks).
  • Time saving - Saving of time through the reuse of publication data as it increasingly works with other systems (manuscript submissions to publishers, funding applications, research tools such as Scopus, and employers or professional associations.

What is ORCID? (4:14 mins) from ORCID on Vimeo.

Register and link your ORCID to RMIT

Register for your ORCID iD

Create your ORCID iD at the ORCID website:

To register, enter your first and last name and RMIT email address. Note: it is recommended that you add another personal email address to ensure access if you change institutions.

After entering a password and reviewing the notification settings you will be asked to set the visibility settings for your profile: 'Everyone'; 'Trusted parties'; or, 'Only me'. The default is 'Everyone’ but researchers might select 'Only Me’ until everything is set up. 

You can review trusted organisations in the 'Account Settings' section. When you connect your ORCID to another organisation’s system, you will be asked to grant permission to that organisation to interact with your ORCID account. For example, a publisher may request permission to obtain your ORCID when you submit a manuscript.

Don't forget to complete the link to RMIT.

FAQs

Q. How can I have my ORCID ID appear on my academic profile on the RMIT website?
A. Register for your ORCID profile and link it to your RMIT Elements account. To link your ORCID iD to RMIT or update your other author iDs, visit RMIT Elements.

Q. ​What happens if I move institutions?
A. If you move institutions, you keep the same ORCID. It is recommended that you add an alternative email address to your ORCID profile so that you maintain access if you move.

Link your ORCID with RMIT

It is suggested to link your ORCID with RMIT to ensure information can be shared between systems. To do this:

  • Go to your RMIT Elements staff profile by visiting Elements.
  • In the My Actions area in your account, there will be an option to either Add your ORCID iD if it isn't already attached to your account OR to Connect your ORCID iD if it is already visible in your account.
  • These options will prompt you to either login to your existing ORCID account or if you don't already have an ORCID iD, to register and create one.
  • When prompted you will need to Authorise Access for RMIT Elements to have access to your ORCID record.
  • You can then also manage the Automatic claiming permissions between the two accounts via your Elements account.
  • Visit the Project MODERN Training and Support page or RMIT Elements Guides on the Researcher Portal for more information.

FAQs

Q. Why should I nominate RMIT University as a trusted party?
A. ORCID will allow an automated data feed with RMIT systems such as the new Research Repository, the Researcher Portal and the Find RMIT Researchers web tool. This will allow, for example, automated updating of nominated areas of research interest as outlined on an ORCID profile.

Adding publications to ORCID

Three methods to add publications to ORCID

There are several methods to add publications to your ORCID profile. The three main methods for adding works to your ORCID profile are:

  1. Search and link
  2. Add BibTeX
  3. Add manually

From the Biography section go to > Works > + Add.

1) Search and link

The recommended way to add "traditional" research outputs such as peer-reviewed journal articles to your record is via Search and link, as this tool directly connects to some organisations and databases and ensures accuracy of record data. 

  • Select ‘Search and link’ to bring up a list of author ID sources.
  • Next, scroll through the list and select an organisation/database you wish to connect to, for example Scopus - Elsevier.
  • Select 'Authorise' and choose your profile - follow the steps to identify relevant publications to connect your ORCID with Scopus (see the video below for further details).

2) Add BibTeX

For databases or platforms that don't have a direct connection with ORCID (e.g. LibrarySearch, Google Scholar or EndNote), you can import citations in the form of BibTeX (.bib) files - more detail can be found on the ORCID website. 

Note: It's recommended that the Search and link import function is used wherever possible, as there have been some inconsistencies when trying to import BibTeX (.bib) files. 

To import a BibTeX file (.bib):

  • Select Add BibTeX to import a list of publications using a BibTeX file (.bib).
  • Next, select Choose BibTeX file to import and then select the BibTeX (.bib) file you want to import.
  • You will see any publications in a list. Select save (click the disk icon) next to the desired publication to add the work individually or choose the Save all button to add all of the publications at once.
  • The publications will then appear listed under the Works section of your record, and you will be listed as the source.

3) Add manually

This method is suitable for adding NTROs and other Research Outputs not listed in the main databases connected to ORCID.

To add manually:

  • Complete all required fields. This includes Select a work categoryWork type, and Title.
  • Descriptions for all fields can be found from the ORCID website.
  • Apart from the work category and title of the work, it is highly recommended to also complete the work identifiers, e.g. DOI for journal articles, or ISBN for books. If an identifier is not available, fill in a URL.
  • For NTROs, and in particular for RMS records for ARC grants, ensure the Citation fields are complete. Select the citation type as Unspecified and add the NTRO citation exactly as you want it to appear in the RMS.

A quick method for adding the citation can be to copy and paste from a CV or list of your works.

  • After completing the form, click Save changes to submit.

For further information follow the Add works manually instructions from the ORCID website.

Adding your research outputs to ORCID (5:24 min) by RMIT University Library, Microsoft Stream (RMIT login required)

Linking ORCID with the RMS

ORCID and your ARC grant

The Research Management System (RMS) is a web-based system used to prepare and submit research applications, assessments and rejoinders for the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Researchers can now provide their publication data to the ARC RMS via their ORCID profile.

Tip: When uploading records into the RMS select ‘All’ instead of ‘Available’ (the text box on the right hand side next to where you select ORCID for sources). The default is 'Available' rather than 'All' records but this can result in missing records.


Adding publications to the RMS from your ORCID profile

Adding Research Outputs to the ARC RMS (6:56 mins) RMIT Library Teaching & Research, Microsoft Stream (RMIT login required)

Steps to add publications

  1. Login to your ARC RMS account
  2. From the 'Action centre' page, select 'Research Outputs' from the Person Profile Menu
  3. In the 'Manage research outputs' page, select 'Create or Connect your ORCID iD'
  4. You will be prompted to log in to your ORCID account and authorise the ARC as a trusted party. After doing this, select the 'Populate from ORCID' button 
  5. Then, select the 'Populate' button to add your research output to the RMS

Other methods to add research outputs to the RMS include by uploading a BibTex file, by DOI or manually entering the works


FAQs

Q. How should I add non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) to my ORCID profile (e.g., creative works), and how will they transfer to the RMS?

A. The ARC advises that you may need to enter NTROs manually to your ORCID profile - select the 'Unspecified' citation type and ensure that you enter the full citation as you would like it to appear in the 'Citation' field.

More information on adding works manually (including NTROs) is available on the 'Adding publications' section on this guide.

Q. I selected 'Populate from ORCID' in the RMS but some of my research has not transferred!

A. You may need to edit the works in your ORCID profile that did not transfer. Entering information such as the DOI or ISBN can be helpful, if available. Otherwise, ensure that the citation field in ORCID is complete (see above question).

Q. The RMS says all the works have transferred from ORCID, but I can't see them!

A. Check that you have the 'Source' drop-down option set to blank, and the 'State' drop-down menu set to 'Available'