Author identifiers

In the field of publishing scientific information, there are often difficulties in identifying their authors.
This can be caused by:

• the frequent occurrence of some names that are difficult to distinguish from each other (Jan Novák, John Smith),
• by changing the surname at the conclusion of the marriage, etc..,
• in different languages, eg by order of individual parts of names (Li Xu),
• inconsistent use of abbreviations (Novák J., Jan Novák, Novák Jan, J. Novák),
• change of employer,
• using different character sets, typos, etc.

The solution to these problems is to assign a unique identifier to each author, which the author states next to his name for individual publications.

Pros:

• publications will be available regardless of the name variant used or other authors with the same name,
• better availability of scientific outputs (for the purpose of obtaining subsidies, new contacts for cooperation),
• the certainty that the publications are clearly linked to the correct author,
• full control over the profile throughout the career of the scientist.

Several renowned worldwide services have started to provide unique identifiers - ORCID, ResearcherID (Clarivate Analytics) and Scopus Author ID (Elsevier). Over time, one basic service emerged, which essentially began to serve as a standard for author identification in the field of science and academic publishing. It is ORCID, a non-profit organization that offers open and independent registration.

Library recommendations

Based on Instruction No. 5/2018, the authors of the reported R&D results are obliged to establish an ORCID identifier and enter it into the information system. The Central Library further recommends keeping the ORCID profile up to date and linking it to ResearcherID (Web of Science) and Scopus Author ID.

• ORCID