The Digital Object Identifier  (DOI) has become the standard persistent identifier for data and other digital objects.

DOIs enable permanent identification and reliable citability of online publications. When data is published in a repository, a DOI is usually assigned automatically. DOIs are registered with and managed by the International DOI Foundation (IDF).

Duplicate names, different spellings or name changes can make it hard to clearly identify authors. This is where a PID for authors can solve this issue – the ORCID iD.

ORCID provides a permanent digital identifier that distinguishes you from all other researchers – like a fingerprint. Anyone can register free of charge. In your ORCID profile, you can list your professional positions and functions and automatically create a list of your publications. This allows ORCID iDs to be integrated into important research processes such as the submission of manuscripts and proposals.

Data is generally not self-describing, but must be supplemented with additional information: Metadata as data about data describe the specific characteristics of a data set. Metadata are stored independently of or together with the data they describe.

To make data comprehensible, readable and processable for humans and machines, metadata must be recorded in a structured and standardized manner. Standardizing the fields and values used helps to relate different data sets to each other and to make them findable and understandable across institutional, linguistic and disciplinary boundaries. Metadata standards therefore play a decisive role in the reuse of research data.

Learn more at UK Data Service [English]

With standardized free licenses, you set general terms of use for your research data and indicate the permitted use. Creative Commons licenses (CC licenses), which are based on copyright law and do not undermine it, are generally used for publications.

Assigning a license to your data creates transparency, in line with the FAIR principles.