A persistent identifier (PID) is a guarantee that a publication or dataset is both retrievable and distinguishable. An example is DOI (digital object identifier), a unique link that can be assigned to both publications and datasets. The use of persistent identifiers for research data and publications is an essential requirement to meet the FAIR principles. On this page, you can read about different PIDs and how they are assigned.
A unique and persistent identifier
A persistent identifier (PID) is a unique marker that helps to distinguish one (or a series of) objects from others. PIDs make it easier to reference and link to objects, such as a scholarly article or a dataset in a repository.
Different types of PIDs
There are several different forms of identifiers. DOI (digital object identifier) and URN (uniform resource number) are two common examples, which are used for both publications and research data. For publications, ISBN (international standard book numbers) and ISSN (international standard serial numbers) are also used.
DOI (digital object identifier)
DOI is a unique and persistent identifier assigned to a publication or dataset to make the object findable in the long-term. It consists of letters and numbers, which are associated with a prefix to act as a link. The DOI link is persistent and does not change over time, regardless of any changes in web addresses or storage locations.
Scholarly publishers typically assign a DOI to journal articles, which is usually found in the abstract or in the article itself. Some monographs and anthologies published in electronic format are also assigned a DOI. In these cases, chapters may have individual DOIs. Many data repositories, such as the Swedish National Data Service, Zenodo, and Figshare repositories, also use DOIs for the data made available in the repository.
DOIs can be used to reference publications and data, for example, in a reference list. Always include the DOI when referencing material and ensure that the DOI of both the article and the dataset is visible in conjunction with other information used to reference your work.
Read more about DOI at the International DOI Foundation and the Swedish National Data Service (SND):
Similar to DOI, the URN is a persistent identifier assigned to digital resources to ensure that the resource is retrievable regardless of where it is currently located and stored. URNs are used for both publications and research data.
Publications registered in DiVA are automatically assigned a URN:NBN, where NBN stands for National Bibliography Number. This means that all publications in DiVA have a persistent link, which you can find in the top right corner of each record.
Read more about URN:NBN on the National Library's website:
ISBN is used as a unique identifier for books, reports, theses, and other similar publications. Revised versions and new issues or editions of the same publication are assigned new ISBNs.
Read more about ISBNs on the National Library's website and at the International ISBN Agency:
The ISSN is used to identify a series of publications, such as a journal and a report series. A book can have both an ISSN and an ISBN if it is part of a book series.
Read more about ISSN on the National Library's website and at the ISSN International Centre:
The FAIR principles aim to ensure that publicly funded research results are findable, accessible, interoperable with other systems, and reusable. In other words, both publications and research data should be easy to find and reuse. Many funders require that your research data meet FAIR criteria.
You can read more about FAIR data at the Swedish Research Council and FAIR for publications at the National Library:
Your research data should be searchable, citable and traceable. This is achieved with the help of a PID, such as a DOI. When you share your data in a repository, such as the Swedish National Data Service (SND) catalogue, a DOI is assigned to your data. PIDs follow predictable formats and are machine-readable, meaning that PIDs can be used to link information automatically.
To use PID in a way that meets the FAIR principles, you need to:
assign your data descriptions, data and related materials a PID;
ensure that both the data description, its associated materials, and the PID are in machine-readable format;
enter the PID in a metadata field when registering research data; and
ensure that your data descriptions always contain a PID link to the data material.
ISBN for publications published at Umeå University
You can order an ISBN through the library if you have written a publication where Umeå University is the publisher. Each format of the publication, whether printed or digital, must have its own ISBN. ISSNs for publication series, on the other hand, are administered by the faculty or department responsible for publishing, not by the library.
Persistent identifiers are useful in various bibliometric analyses, such as mapping scholarly publishing in different research fields. For instance, unique identifiers help trace how a publication or dataset is cited. They also make it possible to see how a publication or dataset is mentioned in, for example, news sources and social media, known as altmetrics.
You can read more about bibliometrics and altmetrics here:
