Persistent Identifiers (PID) are alphanumeric codes used to uniquely identify academics with a persistent identity.  The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID ID) is the international standard for PID systems with over 5 million registered academics and organizations.

More than eight major academic publications have committed to requiring ORCID ID for researchers.  Some examples include;

1. The Royal Society
2. American Geophysical Union
3. Hindawi
4. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
5. PLOS
6. Science
7. Nature Publishing Group
8. Elsevier, Springer, Wiley

ORCHID can be used on personal websites, when you submit publications, apply for grants, and to ensure you get credit for your work which is essential for researchers who have name changes or very common names.

When choosing a PID, here are some of the things should keep in mind:

• Can you use the PID to discover metadata and other information in a predictable manner? See:  FAIR PIDS
• In addition to researchers, can you use the PID to identify requests for comments, a specific institute, data sets?

Get credit where credit is due!