Editing Digital object identifier (section)

{{short description|ISO standard unique string identifier for a digital object}}
{{For|the use of digital object identifiers on Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Digital Object Identifier|selfref=y}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox identifier
| image         = DOI logo.svg
| image_size    = 130px
| image_caption = 
| image_alt     = 
| image_border  = 
| full_name     = Digital Object Identifier
| acronym       = DOI
| number        = 
| start_date    = {{Start date and age|1997|10}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Morgan |first=Cliff |date=n.d. |orig-date=This article is an expanded and updated version of a presentation to the Wiley Library Advisory Board, 18 November 1998. |title=The DOI (Digital Object Identifier) |website=UKSG (formerly United Kingdom Serials Group) |department=Serials |url=https://www.uksg.org/serials/doi |access-date=2024-09-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802081819/http://www.uksg.org/serials/doi |archive-date=2007-08-02}}</ref>
| organisation  = [[#IDF organizational structure|International DOI Foundation]]
| digits        = 
| check_digit   = 
| example       = [https://doi.org/10.1000/182 10.1000/182]
| website       = {{Official URL}}
}}
A '''digital object identifier''' ('''DOI''') is a [[persistent identifier]] or [[handle (computing)|handle]] used to uniquely identify various objects, standardized by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO).<ref name="iso">{{cite web |title=ISO 26324:2012(en), Information and documentation – Digital object identifier system |publisher=[[ISO]] |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:26324:ed-1:v1:en |access-date=20 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617031837/https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:26324:ed-1:v1:en |archive-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> DOIs are an implementation of the [[Handle System]];<ref>{{cite web |title=The Handle System |website=Handle.Net Registry |url=https://handle.net/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107070646/http://www.handle.net/ |archive-date=Jan 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Resources (including Factsheets) |website=DOI |url=https://www.doi.org/the-identifier/resources/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225082146/http://www.doi.org/factsheets.html |archive-date=Dec 25, 2022}}</ref> they also fit within the URI system ([[Uniform Resource Identifier]]). They are widely used to identify academic, professional, and government information, such as [[academic journal|journal]] articles, research reports, data sets, and official [[publication]]s.

A DOI aims to resolve to its target, the information object to which the DOI refers. This is achieved by binding the DOI to [[metadata]] about the object, such as a [[URL]] where the object is located. Thus, by being actionable and [[interoperability|interoperable]], a DOI differs from [[ISBN]]s or [[International Standard Recording Code|ISRCs]] which are identifiers only. The DOI system uses the [[indecs Content Model]] to represent [[metadata]].

The DOI for a [[document]] remains fixed over the lifetime of the document, whereas its location and other metadata may change. Referring to an online document by its DOI should provide a more stable link than directly using its URL. But if its URL changes, the publisher must update the metadata for the DOI to maintain the link to the URL.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Witten |first1=Ian H. |title=How to Build a Digital Library |last2=Bainbridge |first2=David |last3=Nichols |first3=David M. |date=2010 |publisher=Morgan Kaufmann |isbn=978-0-12-374857-7 |edition=2nd |pages=352–253 |language=en |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Langston |first1=Marc |last2=Tyler |first2=James |title=Linking to Journal Articles in an Online Teaching Environment: The Persistent Link, DOI, and OpenURL |date=2004 |journal=The Internet and Higher Education |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=51–58 |doi=10.1016/j.iheduc.2003.11.004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How the "Digital Object Identifier" Works |date=2001-07-23 |website=BusinessWeek |language=en |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_30/b3742032.htm |access-date=2010-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101002070758/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_30/b3742032.htm |archive-date=2010-10-02 |quote=Assuming the publishers do their job of maintaining the databases, these centralized references, unlike current web links, should never become outdated or broken}}</ref> It is the publisher's responsibility to update the DOI database. If they fail to do so, the DOI resolves to a [[link rot|dead link]], leaving the DOI useless.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Jia |title=Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Under the Context of Research Data Librarianship |journal=Journal of eScience Librarianship |date=2021 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=Article e1180 |doi=10.7191/jeslib.2021.1180 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The developer and administrator of the DOI system is the International DOI Foundation (IDF), which introduced it in 2000.<ref>{{citation |last=Paskin |first=Norman |chapter=Digital Object Identifier (DOI) System |title=Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences |date=2010 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |pages=1586–1592 |edition=3rd}}</ref> Organizations that meet the contractual obligations of the DOI system and are willing to pay to become a member of the system can assign DOIs.<ref name="dd">{{cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Lloyd A. |last2=Douglas |first2=Kimberly |title=Digital Object Identifiers: Promise and problems for scholarly publishing |date=December 1998 |journal=Journal of Electronic Publishing |volume=4 |issue=2 |doi=10.3998/3336451.0004.203 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The DOI system is implemented through a federation of registration agencies coordinated by the IDF.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to the DOI System |date=28 June 2010 |publisher=DOI  |url=https://doi.org/ |access-date=7 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813030300/https://doi.org/ |archive-date=Aug 13, 2010}}</ref> The cumulative number of DOIs has increased exponentially over time, from 50 million registrations in 2011 to 391 million in 2025.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is a DOI?|url=https://www.doi.org/the-identifier/what-is-a-doi/ |website=DOI Foundation |access-date=6 February 2025}}</ref> The rate of registering organizations ("members") has also increased over time from 4,000 in 2011 to 9,500 in 2013, but the federated nature of the system means it is not immediately clear how many members there are in total today.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who are the Members & Users? |website=DOI |access-date=6 February 2025|url=https://www.doi.org/the-community/who-are-the-members-and-users}} {{cite web |title=DOI News, April 2011: 1. DOI System exceeds 50 million assigned identifiers |date=20 April 2011 |website=DOI  |url=https://doi.org/news/DOINewsApr11.html |access-date=3 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727193513/https://www.doi.org/news/DOINewsApr11.html |archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref> Fake registries have even appeared.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.doi.org/more-info|title=Important Alerts|website=DOI }}</ref>