DOI

DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier, a standardized system for identifying and providing a persistent link to digital objects such as scholarly articles, reports, data sets, and other intellectual property. A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string typically displayed as a prefix "10." followed by a suffix separated by a slash, for example 10.1000/xyz123. The left-hand part (the prefix) identifies the registrant, while the right-hand part (the suffix) is chosen by the registrant and must be unique within that prefix. DOIs are managed by the International DOI Foundation (IDF) and registered through registration agencies such as Crossref and DataCite. The DOI system provides a stable URL through which the object can be located, commonly via the resolver https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyy, which redirects to the current location of the object.

DOIs are widely used in scholarly publishing and data management, enabling reliable citation, linking, and metadata maintenance. Metadata associated with a DOI often includes the object title, authors, publisher, publication year, and resource type, and is machine-readable to support indexing and discovery. While DOIs do not guarantee permanence of the content itself, they enable ongoing access by updating the target URL when the object moves.

Limitations include incomplete adoption across disciplines and publishers, potential breaks if metadata is not maintained, and the need for publishers to mint DOIs for their outputs. The DOI standard is ISO 26324:2012, with ongoing updates to accommodate new digital objects.