FAQs – DOI

1. How to start using the services of the National DOI Center?

If you want to use the services of the National DOI Center, please read the page dedicated to this topic Information for those interested in using NC DOI services.

Feel free to also contact us at doi@techlib.cz.

Before you contact us, make sure your institution meets the basic requirements:

To use the services of the National DOI Centre, your organisation will sign a contract with the NTK. (The model of the contract is available in the NTK institutional repository: https://doi.org/10.48813/f7r6-xy34)

  • You represent an institution of higher education, research or other non-profit organization active in science, research and innovation based in the Czech Republic.
  • Your organisation produces research data, datasets and other research results in the course of its activities and assigns or plans to assign DOI identifiers to them.
  • Your organisation has a system where you can start assigning DOIs to research results (e.g. a repository).
  • Your organisation is prepared to ensure the persistence (permanence) of the registered DOIs, i.e. to keep the URL of the object’s information – its metadata and location – up-to-date in the long term.
  • Your organisation is prepared to ensure that DOIs are registered including correct and sufficient metadata.

You can begin using the National DOI Center services at any time during the calendar year.

2. Through which registration agency do National DOI Center services operate?

The National DOI Centre supports the allocation of DOIs through the registration agency DataCite.

DataCite is a global, non-profit organisation that provides persistent DOI identifiers for scientific data and other types of research outputs. DataCite’s goal is to help make data and other scientific content more accessible and citable. While research outputs (digital objects) are stored, managed and made available by institutions that assign DOIs through DataCite, the DataCite organisation registers individual DOIs and object metadata, including the URL where the object’s information and availability are permanently available.

3. Is it possible to try DOI allocation via DataCite in a test environment?

Yes, if you are interested in accessing the test environment, please contact us at doi@techlib.cz.

4. How to access my DOI allocation account through DataCite?

Organisations using the National DOI Center services will obtain an account and login credentials from the National DOI Center under the National Library of Technology (contact email: doi@techlib.cz). 

An additional account will be created by the National Center for each repository that the user organisation manages and wishes to assign DOIs in.

5. How to assign DOIs through DataCite?

The DataCite Registration Agency allows DOIs to be assigned individually through the Fabrica web interface, where a new, unique DOI is generated or manually entered along with the relevant digital object metadata.

More information about the Fabrica interface can be found here: https://support.datacite.org/docs/doi-fabrica

DOIs can also be assigned and registered in batch using APIs, specifically the DataCite REST API and the DataCite MDS API. 

Documentation for the REST API is available here: https://support.datacite.org/docs/api, and documentation for the MDS API is available here: https://support.datacite.org/docs/mds-api-guide.

6. Are DataCite APIs integrated into existing systems?

Yes, the DataCite APIs are integrated into these repository platforms and CRIS systems, where it is possible to assign DOIs without using the Fabrica interface:

  • Cayuse
  • Sataverse
  • dLibra
  • DSpace
  • EPrints
  • Figshare
  • Omeka S
  • Open Journal Systems (OJS)
  • Redivis
  • Ubiquity
  • Ex Libris Esploro
  • OMEGA-PSIR
  • Pure

See the list of companies that also integrate the DataCite API into their products.

7. What metadata do I need to enter when assigning DOIs through DataCite?

DataCite’s metadata schema specifies which data is mandatory, which is recommended and which is optional when assigning a DOI to a digital object.

The mandatory data are:

  • Identifier (= DOI)
  • Creator (= author(s), a person identifier such as ORCID may be provided)
  • Title (= title)
  • Publisher (= entity that owns, publishes, archives, etc. the object)
  • PublicationYear (= year the object is published)
  • ResourceType (= type of object)

More about the DataCite metadata schema can be found here: https://datacite-metadata-schema.readthedocs.io/en/4.6/properties/overview/#table-1-datacite-mandatory-properties.

8. Can I only assign DOIs to datasets through DataCite?

No, the DataCite metadata schema supports DOIs for 32 different types of objects, from digital texts, audiovisual materials to physical samples. For a complete list of supported object types and their characteristics, see the DataCite metadata schema documentation: https://datacite-metadata-schema.readthedocs.io/en/4.6/appendices/appendix-1/resourceTypeGeneral/

9. Should DOIs redirect directly to the linked object?

No, it is recommended that DOIs redirect to landing pages that are publicly available and contain metadata about the object. The object itself does not have to be publicly available, but the metadata about it should be available via these landing pages.

10. How should landing pages to which DOIs are redirected look like?

Landing pages should meet the following parameters specified in the DataCite’s Best Practices:

  • the landing page is publicly available (do not required login to access)
  • the DOI should be displayed on the landing page as a bibliographic citation which includes the DOI as a URL (so humans can read it)
  • it provides information about options how to access the object
  • the DOI should be appropriately tagged in the source code of the webpage (so that machines can read it)
11. What to do if a linked object linked to a DOI becomes unavailable or a DOI is registered by mistake?

If, for some reason, an object linked to a DOI is no longer available, its Landing Page should be converted to a Tombstone Page, providing information about this status and the reason for the unavailability. See DataCite’s recommended practice for Tombstone Pages: https://support.datacite.org/docs/tombstone-pages

In the event of an erroneous DOI assignment, it is necessary to reset the DOI from the “findable” status to “registered” and set up a Tombstone Page for it. See the official DataCite recommended procedure: https://support.datacite.org/docs/doi-persistence#what-if-a-doi-is-created-by-mistake-or-the-content-is-retracted

To prevent these situations, it is recommended to use testing assignment processes within the test environment and verify the entered metadata in the “draft” status phase, which still allows for possible deletion of a DOI record. More about DOI states at: https://support.datacite.org/docs/doi-states#draft-records

12. Can I transfer the prefix and assigned DOIs to another registration agency?

Yes. The prefix can be transferred to another registration agency, but the DOIs already assigned must then be re-registered with the chosen registration agency.

13. Who can find and view metadata of the DOI records in various states? (“Draft” and “Registered state”)?

The metadata of all records, including those in “Draft” and “Registered” state, is accessible to all other users of DataCite services via the Member API. Official DataCite documentation on this aspect is available here: https://support.datacite.org/docs/doi-states.

14. Any further questions?

If you have any questions about DOI allocation, the National DOI Centre and its services, please contact us at: doi@techlib.cz.

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