ORCID Trust Markers: Complete User Guide

⚠️ WARNING: This documentation has been summarized by Claude (an AI language model) and is pending human review. Some information may be incomplete or require verification against official ORCID documentation.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What are ORCID Trust Markers?
• Understanding Record Summaries
• For Journal Editors
• For Developers
  • Getting Started with the API
  • Accessing Record Summaries
  • Integration Examples
• Best Practices
• FAQs
• Resources

Introduction

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from one another. As the scholarly publishing landscape has evolved, concerns about research integrity and fraudulent submissions have grown. ORCID Trust Markers were developed to address these challenges by providing a way to verify the scholarly credentials of authors through validated information in their ORCID records.

This guide provides comprehensive information about ORCID Trust Markers, including how to understand and use them, technical implementation details, and best practices for different stakeholder groups.

What are ORCID Trust Markers?

ORCID Trust Markers are pieces of validated information in an ORCID record that have been added by trusted ORCID member organizations. These organizations include publishers, universities, funders, and other scholarly organizations.

Trust Markers help establish credibility by showing:

• Which information has been validated by a trusted source
• When and by whom the information was added
• The provenance and authenticity of the data

ORCID Trust Markers follow a distributed trust model, where the provenance of every assertion in a record is recorded and transparently disclosed. This allows users of ORCID data to determine for themselves which information they consider trustworthy for their specific use case.

Key Trust Markers include:

• Validated affiliations (added by institutions)
• Validated works (added by publishers or repositories)
• Validated funding information (added by funders)
• Validated peer review activity (added by publishers)
• Validated professional activities (added by associations)
• Verified email domains (institutional email verification)

Understanding Record Summaries

The ORCID Record Summary is a concise view of an ORCID record that highlights key information and Trust Markers. Record Summaries make it easier to quickly assess the scholarly credentials of a researcher.

A Record Summary includes:

• Basic profile information (name, ORCID iD)
• Affiliations (employment)
• Works (with counts of validated vs. self-asserted items)
• Peer review activities (count of validated items)
• Funding information (count of validated vs. self-asserted items)
• Professional activities
• Other identifiers connected to the ORCID record
• Key dates (record creation and last update)

Record Summaries only display information that has been set to public visibility by the ORCID record holder. Private or trusted-parties-only information is not included.

To view a Record Summary, click "Show record summary" on the right side of an ORCID record header.

Visual Guide to Trust Markers in Record Summaries

Record Summaries visually distinguish between:

• Validated items: Added by a trusted ORCID member organization (shown with organization name as source)
• Self-asserted items: Added directly by the record owner (shown with individual's name as source)

An empty or sparse Record Summary is not necessarily a sign of a problematic submission. Many valid researchers may have limited information in their ORCID records, especially early career researchers or those from regions with lower ORCID adoption.

For Journal Editors

Trust Markers can be a valuable tool in your editorial workflow to help verify author identities and detect potential fraudulent submissions. Here's how to use them effectively:

Incorporating Trust Markers in Submission Screening

1. Collect authenticated ORCID iDs during submission
   • Ensure your manuscript submission system is integrated with ORCID to collect authenticated ORCID iDs
   • Require authors to sign in to their ORCID accounts during submission
2. Check Record Summaries
   • Review the Trust Markers in Record Summaries for key authors
   • Look for validated affiliations and previous works
   • Consider the overall completeness of the record
3. Use Trust Markers as one signal among many
   • Don't reject submissions solely based on limited Trust Markers
   • Consider other verification methods for authors with sparse records
   • Remember that early career researchers or those from regions with lower ORCID adoption may have limited Trust Markers

Integration Options

Several manuscript submission systems have integrated ORCID Record Summaries:

• Wiley's Research Exchange platform
• Aries Editorial Manager
• KriyaDocs
• And many others

If your submission system offers ORCID integration, check if Record Summaries are available as part of the integration.

For Developers

Getting Started with the API

To access ORCID data programmatically, you'll need to use the ORCID API:

1. Choose your API level
   • Public API: Free access to public data and basic functionality
   • Member API: Additional capabilities for ORCID member organizations
2. Register for API credentials
   • Sign in to your ORCID account
   • Go to Developer Tools
   • Register for credentials for the appropriate environment (sandbox for testing, production for live use)
3. Sandbox testing
   • Use the sandbox environment (https://sandbox.orcid.org) for development and testing
   • Sandbox credentials are available to anyone, even non-members

Accessing Record Summaries

ORCID Record Summaries can be accessed through the API in two ways:

Method 1: Record Endpoint

This returns the complete record with all public data:

GET https://api.sandbox.orcid.org/v3.0/[ORCID iD]/record

Headers:

Accept: application/vnd.orcid+xml or application/vnd.orcid+json
Authorization: Bearer [Access Token]

Access tokens can be obtained using OAuth for authenticated access.

Method 2: Summary Endpoint (Member API Only)

Members can use the /summary endpoint to specifically get record summary data:

GET https://api.sandbox.orcid.org/v3.0/[ORCID iD]/summary

Headers:

Accept: application/vnd.orcid+xml or application/vnd.orcid+json
Authorization: Bearer [Access Token]

Integration Examples

Authentication Flow

To collect authenticated ORCID iDs and permissions:

1. Create an OAuth authorization URL:

https://sandbox.orcid.org/oauth/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&response_type=code&scope=/read-public&redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI

2. User signs in to ORCID and authorizes your application
3. Exchange authorization code for an access token:

POST https://sandbox.orcid.org/oauth/token
grant_type=authorization_code&code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE&client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET&redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI

4. Use the access token to read the record summary

Adding Trust Markers to ORCID Records (Member API Only)

ORCID member organizations can add validated information to ORCID records:

1. Obtain permission from the user using OAuth with appropriate scopes (/activities/update or /person/update)
2. Format data according to the ORCID schema
3. Send a POST request to the appropriate endpoint (e.g., /work for publications, /employment for affiliations)

By adding data to ORCID records, your organization becomes a source of Trust Markers, contributing to the trustworthiness of the scholarly record.

Best Practices

For Researchers

1. Keep your ORCID record up to date
   • Regularly review and update your information
   • Set up auto-updates where possible
2. Connect with trusted organizations
   • Allow publishers, institutions, and funders to add information to your record
   • Use your ORCID iD when submitting manuscripts and grant applications
3. Make your record public
   • Set appropriate visibility settings (public is recommended for most items)
   • Consider the benefits of transparency for your scholarly identity

For Publishers and Journals

1. Collect authenticated ORCID iDs
   • Integrate ORCID authentication in submission workflows
   • Never manually enter ORCID iDs
2. Add validated information to ORCID records
   • Contribute published works to authors' records
   • Add peer review activities (maintaining anonymity as appropriate)
3. Use Record Summaries contextually
   • Consider them as one factor among many in integrity checks
   • Provide additional verification options for authors with sparse records

For Institutions

1. Assert validated affiliations
   • Add and maintain employment and education information
   • Consider using the Affiliation Manager tool for batch updates
2. Educate your researchers
   • Promote ORCID adoption and maintenance
   • Explain the benefits of Trust Markers

FAQs

Q: What if an ORCID record has few or no Trust Markers?
A: This doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. Many valid researchers have sparse ORCID records, especially early career researchers or those from regions with lower ORCID adoption. Consider other verification methods.

Q: Can researchers add their own Trust Markers?
A: No, Trust Markers must be added by trusted ORCID member organizations. Researchers can self-assert information, but these will not appear as Trust Markers.

Q: How can I increase Trust Markers in my ORCID record?
A: Connect your ORCID iD with trusted organizations (publishers, institutions, funders) and grant them permission to update your record. Use your ORCID iD consistently when submitting papers or grant applications.

Q: How can my organization become a source of Trust Markers?
A: Join ORCID as a member and implement the Member API to assert validated information to ORCID records.

Q: Are Record Summaries only for detecting fraudulent submissions?
A: No, they have many uses, including simplifying researcher evaluation, streamlining grant applications, and making it easier to understand a researcher's background and contributions.

Resources

• ORCID API Documentation
• ORCID Developer Resources
• ORCID API Tutorial
• ORCID Member Resources
• ORCID Support Center