ARDC DataCite DOI Service

Uniquely identifying digital research objects.
ARDC DataCite DOI Service

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are used to uniquely identify research objects and provide a persistent link to the location of the object on the internet. They also enable citation and tracking of citation metrics.

The ARDC delivers DOI services as a member of the global DataCite initiative.

Our DataCite DOI service is available for publicly-funded Australian research organisations or data centres relevant to Australian research, like those run by government agencies and universities.

You can use the service to create — or mint — DOIs for an object if the object meets the right criteria.

When to Mint a DOI

Use our DOI decision tree to determine if a DOI is right for your needs.

You can mint DOIs for these resources:

Research datasets and collections, associated workflows, software and models.

Grey literature such as theses, reports, unpublished conference papers, newsletters, creative works, preprint journal articles, technical standards and specifications for which the institutional repository is the primary publication point.

Other resource types that are in scope for DataCite.

These objects are out of scope for DOIs:

Published peer reviewed journal articles, ephemera, teaching and learning materials and book chapters.

Digital objects that are not relevant to research.

Our DOI service:

  • may be used to assign DOIs to data and associated workflows, software, models, and grey (non-commercial) literature provided the citable item has the required metadata
  • enables an organisation to maximise the benefits of having their data citations tracked through citation indices
  • creates a persistent link that points to the institutional repository or other location as set out in the metadata (see an example from the Australian National University).

Important note: The ARDC provides the mechanism to allow minting, resolution and updating of DOIs through the DataCite infrastructure but it doesn’t manage the DOIs themselves. Processes and policies need to be put in place by those using the service to ensure appropriate maintenance practices underpin persistence.

For an object to be assigned a DOI it must:

  • be part of the scholarly record
  • be persistently available — users of the service need to have the commitment and capacity to ensure continuity of access to their resource
  • have the six mandatory metadata elements from the DataCite Metadata Schema V4.2: identifier, title, creator(s), publisher, publication year, and resource type general (taken from the list of Controlled Values on Table 3: Expanded DataCite Mandatory Properties of DataCite Metadata Schema V4.2).

Note: A value must be assigned to ‘resourceTypeGeneral’ metadata element when updating DOIs which were minted using versions earlier than v4.0 of the DataCite schema.

If a DOI is not appropriate, please consider using ARDC’s Handle service to create persistent identifiers for other digital objects or resources such as web services and APIs.

For more information about our criteria please read the ARDC DataCite DOI Service Policy Statement.

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