ORCIDs at Stanford

Tom Cramer�University Libraries

C-ACIS Discussion

November 1, 2019

Overview

• Stanford should embrace & support the use of ORCID iDs as a salutary component of the University & international research and scholarly communications ecosystems.
• Stanford researchers should get ORCID iDs;
• Stanford systems providers should integrate with ORCID

What Is ORCID?

• A persistent, unique identifier for a researcher, to avoid the problem of name ambiguity (multiple researchers with the same name), and associate them with their outputs (articles, data sets, profile). �
• A researcher-driven identifier system embraced by researchers, publishers, and increasingly funders. �
• A scholarly profile that persists beyond one’s career at Stanford, which helps early career researchers�
• An identity management tool that allows users to login to various online services; an “academic single sign-on”; increasingly a data & service hub

Benefits for Stanford

1. A growing requirement from funders.
1. Currently 22 int’l funders with ORCID policy or recommendations
2. A growing requirement from publishers.
• Currently 80 publishers are signatories to ORCID open letter
3. A requirement or convenience for using scientific facilities
• E.g., PHS Redivis & OpenNeuro
4. Integrates with a growing number of tools & utilities (similar to a Google ID)
• eRA Commons (NIH), NCBI My Bibliography
• SciENcv (NIH, NSF and IES biosketches)
• Overleaf
• Protocols.io
• Electronic Lab Notebooks

Benefits for Stanford Researchers

1. Avoids questions of author name ambiguities
1. E.g., feed of publications data to Stanford Profiles�
2. Gives researchers credit for their work�
3. Persistent & follows researchers across institutions�
4. Streamlined authentication and data integration for connected systems�
5. Better than commercial alternatives (Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Scopus): more likely to endure over the long-term; no profit motivation; no marketing emails

ORCID at Stanford

• Stanford is already an ORCID member via the Libraries
• 10,000 Stanford researchers already have an ORCID iD
• High level awareness and support for ORCIDs in many areas of Stanford
• Lack of awareness in other areas
• No known resistance or opposition
• New: Hard requirement from NIH (and now SoM) for 2020 training grants
• New: API-based integration with enterprise identity management underway
• Currently no University-wide outreach / advocacy
• Strong grassroots support
• E.g., ~2 dozen members in volunteer ORCID Coordinators group
• Departmental advocates, e.g. in Woods Institute

Recommendation 1

Stanford should embrace and promote the use of ORCID iDs for all its researchers as an integral part of its identity management and research information management ecosystem.

• We expect every Stanford researcher to have an ORCID iD in the future.
• Stanford researchers should configure their ORCID iD to allow for data visibility and data updates to/from Stanford systems.

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Recommendation 2

Stanford’s IT systems should integrate with and leverage ORCID data

• Stanford’s enterprise identity management systems (managed by UIT) will be the primary integration point between ORCID and the University. This will allow both for single sign on and for any Stanford system to receive a researcher’s ORCID iD via one look up. �
• Additional systems will integrate with ORCID for read or read-write access (e.g., Profiles, the Stanford Digital Repository, facilities systems)

Recommendation 3

Stanford’s information service & research support providers need to coordinate to make ORCID use streamlined and the benefits obvious to Stanford researchers.

• Promote the use of ORCIDs via outreach and education
• Provide guidance & support on appropriate configuration
• Coordinate on user experience and data flow among Stanford systems
• Advocate for effective ORCID use for Stanford researchers on campus and externally