The researchers’ online identity and its value in academic research and scientific development
Mohammed Al-Husaini
Library deputy director
The online identity or open identity for researchers is a permanent identity that the researcher or author obtains to link his name with his scientific works and activities. Regardless of the multiple forms of author name that could be seen in the publications, whether in full or using abbreviations or if there is an error in how his name is written, the researcher ID is one an always connected to his work.
With the ID number, the researcher has a unique and permanent profile that he registers on scientific websites and social networks and uses in the scientific research that he publishes. This facilitates access to his research, measuring and tracking his scientific productivity, and also facilitates his identification among researchers, even if their names are similar.
The researcher or author ID is used for various needs related to scientific work and publishing. So, it is used to identify author publications, as well as in grants, while employment process, and CV aspects. Therefore, it has become a requirement to add the ID number when publishing studies in scientific journals and when applying for scientific grants and academic promotions, as well as in many aspects of interest to the researcher related to scientific publishing.
Some organizations provide the researcher identity management and researcher profile service for free, including commercial and non-profit publishing organizations, as well as well-known search engines. This article discusses two famous researcher profile systems; the Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier ORCID) and ReseacherID, as follows:
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) Open identity for researchers and contributors: This open and free service provides a permanent digital identifier that distinguishes each researcher from others, supports the link between the researcher and his scientific production, and ensures the identification of his works that are published when they appear in scientific journals, databases, search engines, or various websites.
The URL to register: https://orcid.org/register
The researcher must register his data and add his scientific and academic biography. After registration, he obtains an author/researcher identification number that he uses in scientific publishing and remains with him permanently.
ResearcherID: It is also an identifier that links the author to his scientific production that is revealed or appears in services (Web of Science, Publons, InCites and EndNote). As an added value, obtaining a researcher ID allows the researcher to access and use Clarivate’s distinguished services even if the institution to which he belongs or the library does not have a subscription. To register, use one of the following links:
https://access.publons.com/register?app=publons
https://access.clarivate.com/login?app=wos
Furthermore, recently the Researcher ID and the ORCID have been connected. This integration serves scientific research in general and the researcher in particular in adding his scientific production in its various forms to his cognitive identity wherever his articles and studies are available in the various search engines.
After obtaining these two identities, the researcher is advised to participate in the open science by uploading his published studies and open research platforms such as Academia, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar, hence, increasing his relationships in the open science system. There is an integration and link between all these services and the researcher’s ID, where the author's scientific productions and activities are identified.
In addition to the above, the researcher’s ID also enables the researcher to link with colleagues and other researchers in the same field and to be presented in scientific databases, which will help in increasing the reference citations for his research and studies and gaining credit in Scientific indicators and impact factors measurement, such as the H-Index. After all, this works to raise the ranking of the university the researcher belongs to locally and globally since the researcher represents with his works both the image of the university and his scientific production.
To summarize, obtaining the researcher’s ID has become a necessary matter, and every researcher should be keen to obtain it and upload his research biography, as well as his studies and activities published on scientific websites and scientific networks. The academic institutions must urge their researchers and faculty members to register for the research ID.
