DataCite

As a member of the international organization DataCite, SND can provide research data with the DOI type of persistent identifier, which makes it easier to reuse research data and cite them correctly.

DataCite logotype. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

What is DataCite?

DataCite is an international non-profit organisation with members from more than 50 countries all over the world. Together, the members strive to make it easier to find, use, link, and cite research data.

The main function of DataCite is to provide services related to DOI minting. A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a type of persistent identifier (PID), which is an alphanumeric code string used to uniquely identify digital objects. By minting DOIs, you can create persistent digital references that make it possible to discover and use digital material such as documents, web sites, and files.

The role of SND in DataCite

DataCite is governed by its members, which include data repositories, libraries, government agencies, higher learning institutions, and other organizations that work with managing, curating, storing, and archiving research data. As members of DataCite, these organizations are able to assign DOIs to data, or in other words to “mint DOIs”. Thanks to SND being a member of DataCite, SND has a mandate to assign DOIs for materials published through SND and can also provide other agencies with DOI prefixes and related services for local needs. These services are primarily designated to help users of the SND system for making data accessible (DORIS), as well as members of the SND network.

SND is a so-called “consortium member” of DataCite, where the consortium in question is the members of the SND network. The membership means that SND is allowed to vote in the DataCite annual meetings, can influence decisions, and has access to the wide knowledge base in the DataCite organization.

Benefits to the research community

All data that are made accessible in the SND research data catalogue are assigned a DOI. The use of a DOI is an important component in making it possible for SND to fulfil our mission to support the access to, preservation, and reuse of research data. It is also a fundamental part of making research data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Assigning a DOI (or another PID) to data has other direct benefits for researchers. A unique identifier means that data are more discoverable, which increases the opportunity that data are reused or cited. A DOI also makes it possible to connect other important information that’s needed to provide a context for the data. Additionally, it is often a requirement that research data are accessible and have been assigned a PID if studies based on these data shall be published in a scientific journal. If you reuse data that have a PID/DOI, it makes it easier to reference and show which version of the data that has been used.

Further reading