DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) Explained

The ASU Research Data Repository provides registered DOI’s for all published dataset records. DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) are essential to ensuring that research and scholarly materials are FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, in line with the FAIR principles. Essentially a DOI allows you to cite a resource and know the link will still direct users to the scholarly work because it will be redirected if an object is moved to a different platform or address.

What is a DOI?

  • DOI, “Digital Object Identifier,” is a unique, permanent, persistent link to information about an object online (such as a journal article, dataset, website, image, etc.)

  • Clicking on a DOI link will take you to a web page where you can find out how to access the object 

  • If the location (URL) where the object is hosted changes over time, the DOI will stay the same, so the object can always be found

  • Example DOI:

screenshot of Dataverse citation featuring a dataset DOI
DOIs appear in the suggestion citation of datasets in the ASU Research Data Repository

Why should I care about DOIs?

  • DOIs are essential to ensuring that the research and scholarly materials that you create and use are FAIR, in line with the FAIR principles:

    • Findable - DOIs make it easier to find research and scholarly works

    • Accessible - DOIs ensure that works can continue to be accessed over time

    • Interoperable - DOIs work together with your ORCID iD to make sure you get credit for your work

    • Reusable - DOIs make it easier to cite and reuse research and scholarly works 

How should I use DOIs?

  • When you are reusing or citing someone else’s work, make sure to include the DOI for the work if available (use the DOI Citation Formatter to create a DOI citation)

  • If an object that you created has a DOI, use it when referencing or sharing your work

How can I get a DOI for an object that I created?

  • You will get a draft DOI when you create a dataset in the ASU Research Data Repository

  • DOIs are usually assigned to objects when they are ready to be shared/published

    • Once your dataset has been published and made public, the DOI will be registered and begin working as a persistent link, and your dataset will have a reliable and citable URL

  • Remember, once a DOI is created, it is permanent!

    • Records in Dataverse must be approved for deaccessioning before they can be removed, and a history of their previous existence will remain

  • You may also have DOI in other works from other systems. Many journal publishers, repository platforms, and research organizations can assign a DOI to your work, either automatically or upon request - check with the organization you are working with to see what their publishing workflow includes.

ASU Library’s KEEP Institutional Repository also provides persistent identifiers in the form of handle identifiers on which DOI’s are based.

Example handle URL in KEEP: https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.C.163839

While functionally equivalent, KEEP handles do not go through the same registration process as the DOI system. Still, they are locally registered at ASU with the same preservation and maintenance commitments we give to works with DOIs.

What else do I need to know?

Video: Persistent identifiers for researchers and research outputs

The ASU Library provides DOIs through its membership in DataCite through the Global Dataverse Community Consortium. DataCite is a DOI registration agency that assigns DOIs to works affiliated with ASU deposited and published in the ASU Research Data Repository. The Digital Archeological Record (tDAR) also provides DOIs through this membership and its partnership with the ASU Library.