European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Why assign DOIs to datasets?

Whenever and wherever a claim relies upon data, the corresponding data should be cited.

Assigning DOIs to datasets improves their citability because:

• the DOI system can serve to identify and locate a specific version of a dataset
• datasets to which a DOI is assigned should stay persistently accessible
• the minimum metadata necessary to assign a DOI allows the data creators to receive the appropriate credit and recognition
• it  allows easy linking between datasets and the publications which cite them

EurOBIS practice

When EurOBIS data management team harvests a dataset that does not yet have a DOI associated to it, we will offer the data provider to assign one. Before a DOI is assigned, the dataset goes through a procedure to assess the quality of the data and metadata. Once the dataset passes, it is archived in the Marine Data Archive to ensure its persistence.

A record passes the quality control when:

1. taxon is matched with World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
2. taxon is at genus or (sub)species level
3. latitude & longitude are different from zero
4. latitude & longitude are within possible boundaries
   (-90 < latitude < +90 & -180 < longitude < +180)