The SAIMM has joined the ORCiD initiative, and from 2019 authors (and co-authors) of papers submitted to the Journal or conferences will need to include their ORCiD identifiers (ORCiD iDs).
An ORCiD is a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes authors from every other researcher, using a 16-digit code, e.g. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3843-3472.
ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a is an open, not-for-profit organisation with the aim of providing a persistent and unique digital identifier – an ORCiD (pronounced ORC-iD) – to any individual who is involved in research, scholarship, and innovation activities, similar to the way in which the digital object identifier (DOI) constitutes a persistent identity for documents on digital networks. The ORCID record can be enhanced with the registrant’s professional information and linked to other identifiers (such as Scopus, ResearcherID, or LinkedIn).
The National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa requires that all researchers and students applying for funding and rating at the NRF have an ORCiD identifier. This allows them to uniquely identify themselves as the author of their work across all systems integrated with the ORCID registry.
Unique identification is particularly import when a researcher’s citations are assessed. If there is any confusion about an author’s details then the citations are separated, e.g. JA Smith, John Smith, J Smith. Citation counters will interpret these formats as three different people. Using an ORCiD will automatically group all this individuals research together.
There are currently 1025 ORCiD member organisations, including publishers, research institutes, universities, professional associations, and funding agencies, and around 6 million registrants.
To obtain your unique ORCiD identifier, register now at https://ORCiD.org/register
The process is simple and takes less than a minute.