DataCite
As a member of the international organisation DataCite, SND can provide research data with the DOI type of persistent identifiers, which makes it easier to reuse research data and cite them correctly.
What is DataCite?
DataCite is an international non-profit organisation with members from more than 42 countries globally. The members work together 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 organisations that work with managing, curating, holding, and archiving research data. As members, these organisations are able to assign DOIs to data, or in other words to mint DOIs. Thanks to SND being a member of DataCite, SND can mint DOIs, but can also support other agencies by providing DOIs and related services. These services are primarily designated to help users of the SND system (DORIS), as well as members of the SND network, make their data accessible.
At present, SND is the only Swedish member of DataCite. SND is a so-called “consortium member”, 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, influence decisions, and have access to the wide knowledge base in the DataCite community.
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. That research data are accessible and have been assigned a PID is often a requirement if studies that are 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.