Science data – support for researchers

Science data – support for researchers

Data Identifiers

What are data identifiers?

Data identifiers are essential for making research objects (as a dataset) findable, retrievable and citable. While there are different type of identifiers, some identifiers  (like an URL) are vulnerable to changes over time, leading to an increase risk of link rot (broken links to the data).

A persistent identifier (PID), is a unique identification code that provides a permanent citable reference to your data, independently of its online location. It guarantees to remain functional, ensuring that the link to your data will keep working even if a web address changes.

TIP: Using a persistent unique identifier, like a DOI, makes it easier for others to cite your data, increasing your academic impact, and can help you track how your research is being used and cited!

 
You can learn more about identifiers in this video from Research Data Netherlands.

Good to know:
– Most data repositories will automatically assign a PID, when archiving a dataset.

– To increase data findability, the PID should always be included in the metadata record.

– Find additional PIDs tips on Publishing and sharing data – RDM Support (uu.nl)