DOI policy

  1. EIDC policies
  2. DOI policy

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers for objects. The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) assigns DOIs to the majority of the data resources deposited into its repository. All DOIs assigned by the EIDC are registered with DataCite and are compliant with their requirements

What types of outputs are assigned a DOI?

The EIDC will assign DOIs to datasets and other data resources that it holds. DOIs are assigned with the NERC prefix (10.5285). Unless, specifically requested otherwise, a DOI will be assigned for every data resource accepted for publication by the EIDC. All datasets given a DOI will be held by the EIDC in perpetuity and remain publicly accessible.

DOI allocation and mandatory requirements

DOIs are allocated by DataCite . In order to provide a DOI, a mandatory set of metadata elements are required. Examples include a title for the resource and one or more creators (or authors) of the resource. The date of publication of the resource will be the date the metadata record is published, not the date public access to the resource is granted. The publisher will be "NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre" for resources published by the EIDC.

Modifications to data resources

Once a DOI has been assigned, modifications to data resources are not accepted. Any modifications will result in the old version being withdrawn (see withdrawal policy) and a new version being issued with a new DOI.

Modifications to metadata

Once a DOI has been assigned, modifications to mandatory metadata (e.g., title, authors) will not be permitted unless it is proven that the Data Centre is in error.

Withdrawal policy

Content held by the EIDC is intended for long-term preservation. However, in some cases items may be withdrawn. Reasons for withdrawal might include:

  • Proven copyright or licence violation or plagiarism
  • Falsifed research
  • Legal requirements
  • National security
  • Data are found to contain errors

A withdrawn item will retain its DOI and the landing page (metadata) will still be publicly available online along with a withdrawal notice. The data resource itself will not be directly accessible, however, users will still be able to submit a request for a copy of the data resource to the EIDC.