Skip to main content
The NCI Community Hub will be retiring in May 2024. For more information please visit the NCIHub Retirement Page:https://ncihub.cancer.gov/groups/ncihubshutdown/overview
close

Knowledge Base

DIgital Object Identifier

What is a DOI?

A DOI is a serial code used to uniquely identify digital assets. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI®) System is used to identify digital resources when referencing them in academic literature. DOIs are widely used by the citations in journals. Web addresses can change, but DOIs remain fixed and always point to a particular digital resource regardless of where it lives on the web.  Learn more about it on Martin Fenner's blogpost or at wikipedia.

What types of assets are assigned DOIs in NCIP Hub?

Assets in NCI Hub can be assigned a DOI by Uploading a Tool or publishing other assets from within Projects.  

Granularity of the asset is determined by the contributor - deposits of a single file or that of many thousands of files are acceptable. Depositors are encouraged to consider the smallest unit of data likely to be cited and organize the data based on the needs of the secondary data user.

How does NCI Hub mint DOIs?

NCI Hub mints Datacite DOIs using EZID. Learn more about identifiers made easy with EZID.

What is the minimum metadata included?

All DOIs have metadata attached to them. The metadata are provided by the contributor as part of the resource or publication submission in NCI Hub. The minimal metadata required are Title, Publisher, Publication Type and Resource Type – all automatically derived from the menu-driven submission process for assets within NCI Hub.

What other metadata can be included to make the asset more discoverable and how can I request their inclusion?

Other metadata associated with the contributor, identifiers, and text such as abstracts can be included to enhance discoverability of the asset. If you would like to include additional metadata for your digital asset, please submit a support ticket.

Should a new DOI be minted with an update to the digital asset? Can they be versioned?

Yes it is a best-practice to do so and NCI Hub allows upload of a new version of the asset with a new DOI. The metadata schema supports one asset to ‘supersede’ another - the original asset is not ‘replaced’. Instead, users are made aware that a deposit is no longer current.

Is there a cost to mint a DOI?

No there is no cost to the individual user. NCI Hub has established an agreement with Purdue Libraries and absorbs the annual cost allowing users to mint unlimited DOIs.

Who should I contact to request help to mint a DOI ?

Questions can be directed to the NCI Hub Administrator by submitting a support ticket or contact support at support@nciphub.org

0 Dislike

Last updated

Comments on this entry

There are no comments on this entry.

Post a comment

Post a comment

Comments are closed on this entry.

Please keep comments relevant to this entry. Comments deemed offensive or inappropriate may be removed.