FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General

Can one person have more than one ORCID iD?

This was a problem with ORCID for a long time, as institutions could create IDs for their employees without permission.

Nowadays it is no longer possible to have two or more iDs because the ORCID system automatically alerts you to possible duplicates when another iD is registered.

How can I mantain my ORCID record efficently?

The ORCID system communicates with other systems like the databases Scopus, Web of Science or PubMED, DOI providers like DataCite or Crossref and search engines for scientific open access works like BASE or Redalyc.

The ORCID system also offers an automated collection of information from these systems and aggregation into ORCID records. This functionality can be found under “Work > Add Works > Search&Link”.

If this option is set to active, the ORCID record is updated automatically. After each update of the ORCID record, the user receives a message with information about the changes.

The information can also be entered manually, or the persistent identifier (DOI, PubMed ID, ArXiv ID) of the work can be used to assign the work directly to the ORCID record with one click.

Is it possible to avoid duplicates in the ORCID record?

If the same work is exported to ORCID from different sources (e.g. from an institutional repository and a scientific journal), duplicates can be found.

To solve this, ORCID has introduced the “Combine” functionality, which allows combining two works in one record.

 

Consortium

Who may join the consortium?

Every institution which is based in Austria, organised according to Austrian law and from one of the following fields may join the consortium.

  • Universities and institutes of higher education
  • Government research and funding bodies
  • Non-profit organisations

While for-profit organisations may become members of ORCID, their membership in the consortium is prohibited. Further information about ORCID membership possibilities may be found here.

What are the advantages of membership in the ORCID Austria Consortium?

  • Integration of ORCID iD as a person identifier in your institution. The guidelines of funding bodies (FWF, for example) already require the use of ORCID, while other official documents such as LIBER Open Science Roadmap or EC Next-generation metrics recommend ORCID;
  • Saving time in the management of research publications, since the process can be automated using ORCID´s API interface;
  • Possibility of automated notification when changes are made to researchers´ ORCID records (in the event of new publications or altered affiliation, for example);
  • Possibility of offering ORCID record management as a service of the institute;
  • Possibility of premium membership at a reduced price. Premium membership allows the integration of ORCID into five different systems (e.g. publication servers, CRIS, journal systems or repositories);
  • Access to the consortium forum and other communication channels for sharing information and findings;
  • Centralised contract administration;
  • Support of the lead in integrating and communicating via ORCID;
  • Regular informational events (webinars and workshops).

What are the costs of an ORCID Austria Consortium membership?

The consortium offers a premium membership, the price of which is dependent on the number of consortium members.

Number of members
 Yearly membership fee
20 – 34 members
 4.250 USD per member
10 – 19 members
 5.300 USD per member

According to the current size of the consortium (18 members as of August 2022), the yearly cost of a premium membership in ORCID Austria is 5.300 USD per institution.

When can my institution become a member and how?

It is possible to join the consortium at any time.

Steps for becoming a member:

  1. Please send us the following inquiry via email.
  2. A member of the consortium will send you all necessary information and a membership contract via email.
  3. Please return the signed membership contract to us via email.
  4. You will then receive an official copy of the signed membership contract (hard copy via post upon request).

Yearly membership:

Membership during any given year lasts from 1 January until 31 December. However, if an institution joins the consortium at another time throughout the year, the costs of membership will be reduced proportionately.

What is a Premium Member Report and how can the data be interpreted meaningfully?

ORCID Austria members receive as ORCID Premium members a monthly “Premium Member Report” in which they can view the ORCID statistics of their institution. These reports are stored in Google Drive.

The report consists of the following fields:

Field Meaning
Email domain counts Number of unique ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains.

If the institution has active integration, the number of ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains where the institution is a trusted organization is also displayed.
Toral new registrations Number of persons affiliated with the institution who have registered for a new ORCID iD as part of the iD connection process via the institutional system. This number refers to the month of the report.
Total integration users Number of persons in the institution who have used the integration to connect their ORCID iD to an institutional system (e.g. repository or CRIS system). This number refers to the month of the report.
Integration users Graphical representation of the number of people who have used the integration per day. This graphic refers to the month of the report.
Actions taken by users Information about the actions performed when connecting an ORCID iD to the system (e.g. Authorization, New-Registration, Sign-in). This information refers to the month of the report.
Users by country Countries from which integration was accessed. This data is derived from the IP address of the computer.

If the institution does not yet have active integration, the report provides the number of unique ORCID iDs registered to the institution’s email domains.

Technical implementation

Which steps are important for technical implementation?

  1. Read the technical documentation of ORCID and the ORCID API.
  2. Request Sandbox to undergo and optimize technical implementation in a test setting (ORCID Sandbox).
  3. Decide how you want to use the API and which permissions are required.
  4. Present your integration to test whether best practices are being implemented.
  5. Apply for production credentials.

Possible integration points are described on the ORCID website.

How does ORCID API work?

ORCID provides an application programming interface, or API, which allows other systems and applications to connect with the ORCID registry.

ORCID has a collection of the most frequently asked questions regarding the use of APIs (API FAQs). We have listed a few of the most important here. The answers may lead to further resources on using the API.

What are the differences between public and member APIs (basic and premium)?

The public API is available to anyone registered with ORCID and therefore also to institutions and non-members of ORCID. The public API can be used to verify researchers, as well as for searching and viewing public data from the ORCID records of researchers.

The member APIs (basic and premium) allow institutions, with the consent of researchers, to authenticate, to access read-only information (trusted data), to edit ORCID records and to update.

Further resources can be found under the following links:

Which systems support the integration of ORCID?

Some systems already support integration with ORCID automatically.

These include, for example:

  • Repositories:
    • DSpace
    • EPrints
  • CRIS systems
    • Elements
    • PURE
    • DSpace CRIS
  • Publication systems
    • Open Journal Systems

A complete list can be found here: ORCID-enabled systems. Integration with ORCID is also possible in other systems, but only those solutions which are currently made available via ORCID and the community are listed above.

Are sample workflows for integration available?

Yes. The website offers a selection of model workflows for the integration of ORCID. Currently, the information pertains to the integration of ORCID API 3.0 and 2.0. As of 1 September 2019, Version 3.0 will replace Version 2.0.

Data protection

How does ORCID guarantee data security?

ORCID adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) and places great importance on data protection laws. Furthermore, the data protection practices of ORCID are based on three levels of openness and protection (everyone – public, trusted – limited access und only me – private), which are always stipulated by the individual researchers.

Description of the visibility settings ORCID

What are trusted parties (Organizations and Individuals)?

„Trusted parties” are organisations or individuals who have access to the ORCID records of a third party. Depending on the type of access, the trusted party can read and/or edit ORCID records.

Revoking the right to edit or transfer is possible at any time via ORCID account settings on the ORCID platform.

List of trusted organizations in an ORCID Record

Where and for how long does ORCID store data?

ORCID retains data for as long as an account is active, or as long as needed to provide services, including reactivation. (ORCID Privacy Policy, section 9.2). After the reactivation of an account, ORCID saves a cryptographically hashed form of the email (ORCID Privacy Policy, section 7.0) and the ORCID iD. All other information pertaining to this iD (name, for example) is deleted from the registry.

Data is stored using the services of Rackspace with backup in Ireland

Has ORCID undergone an official data protection assessment?

Yes. As part of the ORCID DE project, the DFG entrusted the law firm iRights.Law to perform a data protection assessment with the title „ORCID from a data protection perspective,“ which shows the many ways in which ORCID is setting high standards in this area. The full assessment is available here: http://doi.org/10.2312/lis.17.02.