The Role of ORCID in Advancing Authorship, Research Visibility, and Institutional Integration in the Digital Knowledge Ecosystem

Abstract

The Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is essential in the digital research landscape as it provides a consistent and interoperable way to identify researchers. This study examined ORCID's influence on authorship recognition, research visibility, and integration within institutions, utilizing data from 2014 to 2024. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating global registration statistics, the distribution of work types, and case studies on integration. The findings indicate a steady increase in ORCID usage, with notable surges in 2017 and 2020 owing to institutional mandates and the transition to digital research processes. Journal articles were the predominant output, but the inclusion of datasets, software, and creative works highlights ORCID's interdisciplinary nature. Countries such as India, Brazil and Nigeria have experienced higher adoption rates following outreach initiatives. Institutional platforms such as IRINS and DSpace ease administrative tasks and enhance metadata quality through ORCID integration. Verified affiliations and contributor roles improve transparency in academic records, although adoption remains inconsistent in Southeast Asia, Central Africa, and smaller institutions. These results underscore ORCID's importance of ORCID in bolstering research infrastructure and emphasize the need for broader outreach and policy-level integration to bridge adoption gaps and enhance global influence.