Identifiers for the 21st century: How to design, provision, and reuse persistent identifiers to maximize utility and impact of life science data

Abstract:

In many disciplines, data are highly decentralized across thousands of online databases (repositories, registries, and knowledgebases). Wringing value from such databases depends on the discipline of data science and on the humble bricks and mortar that make integration possible; identifiers are a core component of this integration infrastructure. Drawing on our experience and on work by other groups, we outline 10 lessons we have learned about the identifier qualities and best practices that facilitate large-scale data integration. Specifically, we propose actions that identifier practitioners (database providers) should take in the design, provision and reuse of identifiers. We also outline the important considerations for those referencing identifiers in various circumstances, including by authors and data generators. While the importance and relevance of each lesson will vary by context, there is a need for increased awareness about how to avoid and manage common identifier problems, especially those related to persistence and web-accessibility/resolvability. We focus strongly on web-based identifiers in the life sciences; however, the principles are broadly relevant to other disciplines.

SEEK ID: https://research-sharing.cesgo.org/publications/8

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001414

Projects: CeSGO project

Publication type: Not specified

Journal: PLoS Biol

Citation: PLoS Biol 15(6) : e2001414

Date Published: 29th Jun 2017

Registered Mode: Not specified

Authors: Julie A. McMurry, Nick Juty, Niklas Blomberg, Tony Burdett, Tom Conlin, Nathalie Conte, Mélanie Courtot, John Deck, Michel Dumontier, Donal K. Fellows, Alejandra Gonzalez-Beltran, Philipp Gormanns, Jeffrey Grethe, Janna Hastings, Jean-Karim Hériché, Henning Hermjakob, Jon C. Ison, Rafael C. Jimenez, Simon Jupp, John Kunze, Camille Laibe, Nicolas Le Novère, James Malone, Maria Jesus Martin, Johanna R. McEntyre, Chris Morris, Juha Muilu, Wolfgang Müller, Philippe Rocca-Serra, Susanna-Assunta Sansone, Murat Sariyar, Jacky L. Snoep, Stian Soiland-Reyes, Natalie J. Stanford, Neil Swainston, Nicole Washington, Alan R. Williams, Sarala M. Wimalaratne, Lilly M. Winfree, Katherine Wolstencroft, Carole Goble, Christopher J. Mungall, Melissa A. Haendel, Helen Parkinson

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Citation
McMurry, J. A., Juty, N., Blomberg, N., Burdett, T., Conlin, T., Conte, N., Courtot, M., Deck, J., Dumontier, M., Fellows, D. K., Gonzalez-Beltran, A., Gormanns, P., Grethe, J., Hastings, J., Hériché, J.-K., Hermjakob, H., Ison, J. C., Jimenez, R. C., Jupp, S., … Parkinson, H. (2017). Identifiers for the 21st century: How to design, provision, and reuse persistent identifiers to maximize utility and impact of life science data. In PLOS Biology (Vol. 15, Issue 6, p. e2001414). Public Library of Science (PLoS). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001414
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Created: 6th Jul 2017 at 01:56

Last updated: 6th Jul 2017 at 01:57

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