Researcher Identifiers (also referred to as Author identifiers) are unique identifiers that connect researchers with their publications, group name variations and help differentiate between authors with similar names. 

Researchers are encouraged to create author identifiers to connect all their research outputs together within a database. 

Benefits

• Reduces ambiguity of connecting authors to their work, especially where there are common names or name variations. 
• Allows researchers to quickly draw together all their papers, report on citations and measure research impact.
• Provide easily accessible online presence for research outputs, increasing visibility and accessibility to authors' works.

Common author identifiers                                                                 

• Scopus Author ID         
• ResearcherID
• ORCID ID
• Google Scholar Author Profile

Note: You can link your ORCID ID to, and import publication information from the sources above.

What is a Scopus Author ID?

• Scopus Author ID connects researchers with their publications within the Scopus database.
• It is generated automatically when an author's first publication is indexed by Scopus (no registration required).
• Allows authors to see a list of their publications and view citation metrics.
• Can be linked to your ORCID so publications can be imported to your ORCID record.
• Authors with multiple Scopus Author IDs can request to have profiles merged into one Scopus Author ID within Scopus.
• For more information on the Scopus Author ID and how to correct errors in the profile, refer to Scopus Help.
• It is recommended to add your Scopus Author ID to Elements, Curtin's publication management system. See the short video Putting your Scopus Author ID into Elements for how to find your Author ID and how to add to Elements

What is a ResearcherID?

• ResearcherID uniquely identifies researchers and associates them with their published works within Web of Science.
• Registration is free and is required to create a unique author profile on the Publons platform. Only have one ResearcherID. 
• Publications can be added to your ResearcherID profile via Web of Science or the Publons platform. Regularly update your profile ensuring all your publications are linked to your ResearcherID.
• Peer reviews can be tracked and added to your ResearcherID via Publons
• Can be linked to ORCID so publications can be imported to your ORCID record.
• Consider adding your Researcher ID to Elements, Curtin's publication management system. See the short video Adding your Researcher ID to Elements for how to create your Researcher ID and how to add to Elements

What is a Google Scholar profile?

• A way for researchers to keep track of their citations.
• Allows others to find and discover an authors's works.
• Ensures authors and their publications appear in Google Scholar search results. 
• Researchers can choose to have their articles updated automatically, review the updates personally or manually update articles at any time.
• Can be linked to ORCID.
• Create your profile by signing up at Google Scholar Citations and follow the instructions below to set-up your profile.

I already have other IDs such as a Scopus Author ID and ResearcherID. Do I still need an ORCID ID?

ORCID is an international/universal author identifier increasingly used by publishers and institutions around the world. You can link your ORCID record to, and import publication information from other sources such as Scopus ID and ResearcherID to ensure the systems are synchronised and updated.