DOI：10.11502/rd_guideline_en

Guidelines for Registering DOIs
for Research Data

October 20, 2015
Japan Link Center Joint Steering Committee

Table of Contents
1.

Introduction.................................................................................................................. - 2 -2.

DOI registration and JaLC........................................................................................... - 2 2.1. DOI registration and an overview of JaLC ........................................................... - 2 2.2 JaLC metadata ...................................................................................................... - 4 -3.

Guidelines for registering a DOI for research data ..................................................... - 5 3.1 Workflow ................................................................................................................... - 5 3.1.1 Life cycle of data, data creator, administrator, and institution ........................... - 5 3.1.2 Membership of JaLC .......................................................................................... - 7 3.1.3 Principles of prefix assignment .......................................................................... - 9 3.2 Research data to be registered ................................................................................ - 9 3.2.1 Principles of research data to be registered ...................................................... - 9 3.2.2 Quality of research data ................................................................................... - 10 3.2.3 DOI coordination between data repositories ................................................... - 10 3.3 Guarantee of continued access .............................................................................. - 10 3.3.1 Data held by time-limited projects.................................................................... - 10 3.3.2 Removing data after registering a DOI ............................................................ - 11 3.3.3 Data management policy in research activities ............................................... - 11 3.4 Granularity of DOI registration ................................................................................ - 11 3.4.1 Basic concept ................................................................................................... - 11 3.4.2 Factors in deciding granularity ......................................................................... - 11 3.4.3 Examples of granularity ................................................................................... - 12 3.4.4 Addition and modification of data after DOI registration .................................. - 13 3.4.5 Relationship with the quantity of data and the number of files ........................ - 14 3.4.6 Assigning a suffix ............................................................................................. - 14 3.5 DOI landing page .................................................................................................... - 15 3.6 Establishing your own DOI registration policy ........................................................ - 16 -4.

Case studies.............................................................................................................. - 17 -5.

Bibliography............................................................................................................... - 22 -Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................. - 23 -

1. Introduction
Japan Link Center (JaLC) was founded as a DOI registration agency (RA) to(*)
Notes in thecollect, circulate and promote the use of academic materials produced in Japan.

right margin ofSince being authorized as an RA in March 2012, JaLC has been mainly

the distinction

registering DOIs for journal articles (academic papers). On releasing a newpages show
between:[Mandatory],system in December 2014, JaLC expanded its content categories for DOI[Recommended

registration to journals (serial publications), research reports, books, research[Example]data, and academic materials (e-learning resources), along with journal articles.
Various issues related to the process of registering DOIs for research data are
still being discussed across the world and Japan lacks experience of dataregistration. Before JaLC started registering DOIs for research data, it undertook
an experimental project with participants to establish new operation flows forregistering DOIs for research data in Japan. Through the project, we haveclarified and addressed issues related to DOI registration, worked to establish astable operation method, and examined how to utilize the registered DOIs.
Each participant has also tested the DOI registration processes. These
guidelines are developed based on knowledge obtained through this project anddiscussions in meetings. In developing these guidelines, we hope that they will
be used as a baseline and reference when research institutions start registering
DOIs for their research data.

2. DOI registration and JaLC
2.1. DOI registration and an overview of JaLCThe DOI system stores IDs (DOIs) that are assigned to individual content andtheir corresponding URLs (locations) as pairs and returns a URL in response toa DOI query. When the URL of a digital object is changed, the pair information is
updated to guarantee continued access. A DOI starts with “10.” and is separated
by the “/” character; e.g., “10.1241/xxx-oo-oo.” The prefix preceding the “/”character is a unique code assigned to the owner of the object by the RA. The
suffix following the “/” character can be chosen by registrants. When the address
http://doi.org/"DOI" is accessed after DOI registration, the original URL isresolved and as a result users can access the object.
To maintain the system’s consistency, the relevant organizations form athree-layer structure: the International DOI Foundation (IDF), which governs the-2-], andin thisdocument.
[Mandatory]
shows that theproceduremust beobserved,[Recommended] shows thatthe procedurecan beobserved, and[Example]shows that thedescription is

DOI system, registration agencies (RAs), and DOI registrants. JaLC is an RA
and its members are DOI registrants. (Figure 2-1)

International DOI
Foundation (IDF)

DOI registration
agency (RA)JaLC
members

National Diet Library
(NDL)

DOI
registrant
JaLC
associate
members

SocietyA

Society
B

University
C

University
D

Figure 2-1. Organizational structure of DOI operations
IDF plays a role in creating and managing a database of pairs of DOIs and
URLs. The management activities include new registration of DOIs and URLs,
acceptance of requests for changes, and maintenance of the function that
returns URLs in response to DOI queries.
RAs, which are authorized by IDF, offer services for DOI registration. As of theend of September 2015, nine agencies are registered as RAs around the world.
Each RA has their own registration policy including types of content and a rangeof registrants, and offers services for DOI registration to their registrants. Major
RAs include JaLC, CrossRef, which registers DOIs for journal articles on a large
scale, and DataCite [1], which registers DOIs for research data ahead of allothers.
DOI registrants must become a member of an RA to register DOIs for theirown materials. DOI registrants are the publisher or administrator of theirmaterials. Using services that are prepared by RAs, registrants register pairs of
DOIs and URLs that are used to access their materials.
JaLC is a member of CrossRef and DataCite, as well as an RA. Members of
JaLC can register DOIs assigned by CrossRef or DataCite via JaLC, as well as
DOIs directly assigned by JaLC. Figure 2-2 shows the DOI registration flow via
JaLC.
-3-

DOI Registration Flow
Data
ArticleDOI+ Article metadata

CrossRef DOI+ Metadata

DOI+ Research data
metadata

DataCite DOI+ Metadata

JaLC
memberMetadata

Figure 2-2. DOI Registration Flow via JaLC
Refer to materials [2], [3], and [4] in “5. Bibliography” for details on DOIs and
JaLC.
2.2 JaLC metadata
JaLC defines metadata for each type of content and supports journals, journal
articles, books and reports, research data and e-learning resources.
Metadata for research data comply with the DataCite schema (DataCite
Metadata Schema 3.1). DataCite says that they will provide researchers withmethods to obtain the locations of research data and to identify and cite it under
the purpose of promoting scientific research, and they define a metadata
schema to offer a correct and consistent method for resource citation andsearch. The mandatory items of the schema consist only of an ID (DOI), theCreator, Title, Publisher, and Publication Year, which are necessary for citation.
Minimizing the number of mandatory items, DataCite considers achieving highcompatibility with schemas in many fields. However, they define many otherrecommended and optional items to facilitate data search and citation. [5] [6] [7]JaLC uses the definition of the DataCite schema with some changes thatreflect individual situations, such as coordination with the metadata definition ofother content types that are supported by JaLC (such as journal articles),changes in naming rules for tags and methods of supporting multiple languages,
and the addition of fund information. The specification of JaLC metadata is-4-

provided in the technical information page on the JaLC website. [8]3. Guidelines for registering a DOI for research data
3.1 Workflow
3.1.1 Life cycle of data, data creator, administrator, and institution
The DOI registration process starts with creating the content to register
followed by preparation of storage and publication, including the creation of
metadata, and transmission of DOIs and metadata to an RA. In some cases, areview is conducted to ensure the quality of content during the processes. After
registration, the content can be modified or updated with changes to themetadata. It may even be removed. Figures 3-1 to 3-5 show the life cycle ofcontent from data creation to removal and the relation to stakeholders.
The conventional life cycle of literature data such as journal articles and theroles of the person or institution in charge of the process are shown in Figure
3-1 (publisher) and Figure 3-2 (institutional repository managed by a university
or research institution). In the former case, the researcher creates articles andthe publisher saves and publishes them, registers metadata and a DOI. In thelatter case, a researcher creates and saves articles and uploads them to therepository. The library creates and registers metadata, and sometimes registers
a DOI as an identifier. Modification and removal of content and metadata must
be conducted by the creator.
Meanwhile, the processes for research data are complicated. (Figure 3-3) The
creator of content (research data) is expected to be the researcher. The creatorof the metadata, on the other hand, varies depending on the case, and may be
the researcher, or a research assistant, library, data center, or specialist who isin charge of data publication including quality control. JaLC metadata, which areused for DOI registration (metadata for DOI), mainly consist of general items
that do not depend on the research area, and metadata for a data repository(domain metadata) contain items specific to the research field and other detailed
information.
This document covers processes associated with DOI registration after JaLC
metadata creation. The processes from creation of content to its removal, andthe creation of domain metadata and its modification are out of the scope of thisdocument. JaLC expects landing pages with links to research data, which isaccessed through DOIs registered by JaLC, to contain detailed information
about the research data using domain metadata.
-5-[Example]

For literature(Publisher)

Publisher

ID

Register

Metadata

CreateRegister

ModifySave

PublishModifyResearcher

Data

CreateRemoveFigure 3-1. Life cycle of literature data (Publisher)

For literature(Institutional repository

Library

ID

Register

Metadata

CreateRegister

ModifySave

PublishModifyResearcher

Data

CreateRemoveFigure 3-2. Life cycle of literature data (Institutional repository)

For data
LibraryID

Research
institution
Register

CreateRegister

ModifyJaLC metadata

CreateRegister

ModifyDomain metadata

Save

PublishModifyMetadata
Project
Researcher

Data

CreateFigure 3-3. Life cycle of research data

-6-

Remove3.1.2 Membership of JaLCIn principle, institutions and organizations that do not exist for a limited time

[Mandatory]

are eligible to become members or associate members of JaLC. When thecontent to be registered is journal articles, there is little need to consider
exceptions because the owner is a publisher, university or academic society.
Research data may be created by a research project that only exists for a limited
time, along with a university or a research institution. Research projects that
only exist for a limited time are not eligible to become JaLC members because
registered research data must be accessible for a long time. A member
institution of the project becomes a member or an associate member of JaLC
and registers its DOIs to JaLC in its capacity as a member. When a project thatlasts for a long period of time makes an application, the JaLC management
committee will judge its eligibility individually, and the project itself may becomea member of JaLC.
When a project that wants to register DOIs for research data involves multiple[Mandatory]

institutions, the representative institution must take the overall responsibility.
Actual DOI registration, however, can be done by the representative institution,or each institution (in accordance with the rules of the project). In any case, DOI
registration must be done by a member or an associate member of JaLC. The
representative institution of a project must know which member institution
registers DOIs for which research data.
Examples of projects that consist of a single institution and multiple
institutions are shown below.
[Example]・ A project in a single institution
Figure 3-4 shows an example of a project in a single institution. Project P in
Research Institution A will register a new DOI for research data obtained in the
project. Since Research Institution A is a member of JaLC and has registered
DOIs for their journal articles, it will register DOIs for research data created by
Project P in its capacity as a member. The institution applies to JaLC to get a
new prefix for research data, which is different from the prefixes for journal
articles, and uses the prefix for DOI registration. (Refer to the next section “3.1.3
Principles of prefix assignment” for details of the prefix.) The management
systems for journal articles and research data are usually different in an
institution. The separate management will lead to smooth operations. After the-7-

project ends, Research Institution A must guarantee that the research data willremain accessible.
Research
Institution A

Members: Articles: Researchdata

Project P

Figure 3-4. A project in a single institution[Example]・ A project that consists of members from multiple institutions
Figure 3-5 shows an example of Project Q that consists of members frommultiple institutions. The representative institution of the project is ResearchInstitution A, which is a member of JaLC. Other members of the project are
Society X, University Y and University Z, which are associate members of JaLC
under a member of JaLC other than Research Institution A. (Society X is underInstitution B, and University Y and Z under Institution C.) When ResearchInstitution A takes over all of the research data obtained during Project Q and
conducts DOI registration, only Research Institution A submits an application to
JaLC for a prefix, showing that Research Institute A is the representative
institution for the project. If the project decides that each institution will conduct
DOI registration instead of Research Institution A, Society X, an associate
member, will register DOIs via Institution B, a member of JaLC, and Universities
Y and Z, associate members, via Institution C, a member of JaLC. These
members of JaLC will apply to the JaLC secretariat for a prefix and register the
DOI.

Research
Institution A

Members

Society XX: Articles: ResearchdataSociety YYSociety XY

A time-limited project

Society ZZ

University

Society X

University

University

University Y University Z

Associate
members

Project Q

Figure 3-5. A project that consists of members from multiple institutions
Using these examples that show typical patterns of research projects, each
-8-

[Recommended]institution and project is expected to design DOI naming rules including a prefix
application policy and establish operational rules that will work for their own
situations.
3.1.3 Principles of prefix assignment
The JaLC secretariat assigns DOI prefixes to members of JaLC. In principle,
one prefix is assigned to one member. If necessary, multiple prefixes can be
assigned.
Research data is created and managed under a variety of situations that are[Recommended]

often different from those involved in creating and managing journal articles. It
may be created by one laboratory in an institution or a time-limited project thatconsists of members from multiple institutions, or may be transferred to anotherinstitution and be managed there. Considering these situations, it is preferable
to use individual prefixes for each administrator of actual data or metadata. For
example, each member institution of a project uses an individual prefix, or eachgroup of institutions that creates research data uses an individual prefix if they
use a common repository.
Based on the principle that each administrator uses an individual prefix, a[Example]different prefix can be used for each type of content. When an institution, which
has registered DOIs for their journal articles using a prefix as a member of JaLC,
starts registering DOIs for research data, they can use a different prefix forresearch data because they have a data management section.
When an institution needs a new prefix, it will submit an application with[Mandatory]

information on the data to be registered to the JaLC secretariat and obtain aprefix. (Associate) members must manage their registered data and metadata
properly. Members must report the status of their prefix management to JaLC
once a year and return prefixes that are not used and will not be used in the
future.
3.2 Research data to be registered3.2.1 Principles of research data to be registered
After registration and publication of a DOI, its registrant (administrator) must
guarantee that the data will remain accessible. Therefore, the organization must
maintain their management system for a long time. (Refer to “3.3 Guarantee ofcontinued access”) Also, research data to be registered must be judged to benecessary and able to be maintained by the organization and have a low chance-9-[Mandatory]

of being removed.
3.2.2 Quality of research data
The DOI system guarantees accessibility; it does not guarantee the quality of[Example]registered data. However, registrants can write the data quality in the metadata.
In some cases, data to be registered is peer-reviewed before DOI registrationand the results are written in the metadata.
3.2.3 DOI coordination between data repositories
While a referent can be specified by more than one DOI name, it is[Recommended]recommended that each referent have only one DOI name. (DOI Handbook [2],2.3.5 Uniqueness)
However, a set of data, especially research data, can be specified by morethan one DOI name because several institutions may create data and register
the data to their own repositories, which have their own operational rules for DOI
registration. Under this situation, it is recommended that data providers
communicate with each other and know the overall status of DOI registration. It
is also recommended that in cases where the same research data exists with adifferent DOI, this fact is shown in the metadata as related information(relation_list).
3.3 Guarantee of continued access[Mandatory]

3.3.1 Data held by time-limited projects
As described in “3.1.2 Membership of JaLC,” DOI registration is conducted bya member of the project who is a member of JaLC. The institution must prepare
methods to guarantee continued access.
Unlike with journal articles, research data is sometimes managed by arelatively small group such as a laboratory. Which institution will manage thedata becomes an issue, especially in the case of a joint project undertaken withother institutions outside the organizational system of the institution. If data
creators or administrators cannot guarantee continued access, outsourcing data
management to an appropriate partner institution or data center can guarantee
access to the data.
(Examples of data storage after a project ends)
Ex. 1) A representative institution takes over all of the data registered by
the project and manages it. Prefixes may be transferred. Actual data
- 10 -[Example]management may be conducted by the member researchers who
register the data, an institutional repository, or a library.
Ex. 2) The institutions that conducted DOI registration manage the data.
Ex. 3) If there is no appropriate institution, data management will beoutsourced to an external data repository.
Before the project ends, it is useful to establish operational rules such as asystem that guarantees continued access after the project is completed.
3.3.2 Removing data after registering a DOI
Even when a data provider ceases publication after registering a DOI, the DOI[Mandatory]

landing page must be maintained to give continued access by showing themetadata. The landing page must include the fact that the data has been
removed and the reason.
3.3.3 Data management policy in research activities
Registered data must be properly managed by each member. The methods[Mandatory]

are not included in these guidelines. See references [9] and [10] shown in
Section 5 for details.
3.4 Granularity of DOI registration
3.4.1 Basic concept
While the level of granularity for journal articles is easily determined–-one DOI[Recommended]is simply assigned to one article–-the level of granularity for research data isdifficult to determine because it may have different features and be used invarious ways. The final decision on granularity is made by the data provider,
who must consider that the DOI will be used for a long time.
3.4.2 Factors in deciding granularity
The following are factors used in deciding granularity of DOI registration.
・ Citation
Citation linking and measurement of the number of citations is one of the
major purposes of DOIs. Registering a DOI for research data makes it easy
to cite data and measure the results. Therefore, it is important for data
providers to register DOIs with a level of granularity good for citation.
・ Data properties
It is recommended that the granularity convey the meaning of the individual- 11 -[Example]data. However, such granularity varies depending on the data such as
observational data, experimental data, or calculation data. For example,
while most observational data is not reproducible and data obtained fromone observation does not necessarily have an individual meaning,
experimental data is expected to be reproducible under the same
conditions and data obtained from one experiment may have a clear
meaning.
・ Accessibility
Needless to say, use of DOIs must guarantee that the content is accessible.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the granularity of research data in DOI
registration make it easier for users to effectively view and use the data.
・ Management
To enable institutions and administrators to guarantee continued access,easy management is important. It is recommended that due consideration
is given to easy data management. Some research data is large in scale
and is measured and created by many institutions. Registering data that is
not managed by an administrator must be avoided.
・ Quantity of DOIs
The level of granularity must be adjusted so that the system that registers
or resolves DOIs can properly handle them. DOIs must not be assigned toan enormous number of individual measurement records.
3.4.3 Examples of granularity
The following examples give some ideas of DOI registration for research data.
(1) Mesospheric wind velocity data observed with MF radar (NICT)
Alaska Project of NICT (CRL)-GI/UAF, Mesospheric wind velocity data
(30min. mean) observed with MF radar at Poker Flat, Alaska, doi:
10.17591/55838dbd6c0ad
This dataset is obtained from the radio observation of wind velocity in theupper atmosphere over Alaska since 1998. When the observation device isworking, data is added once every thirty minutes or so in semi-real time.
This is a dynamic dataset (a kind of so-called dynamic data) that increases
with lapse of time. Generally, a fixed (unchanged) dataset (static data) is
suitable for DOI registration. However, such a dataset is difficult to define in- 12 -[Example]continuous observation or measurement experiments. Therefore, theydecided to register one DOI for the whole time-series of data that increases
with lapse of time. Observational and measurement data in the geophysics
field such as geomagnetic observation data and geomagnetic indices from
WDC for Geomagnetism, Kyoto University, and ionospheric observation datafrom WDC for Ionosphere and Space Weather, NICT, have the same features.
When journal articles cite the dataset, they are expected to give the DOI
and access date. Modification records will make it easy to guess the versionof evidence data used if the data has been modified after the articles were
written.
(2) Spectral Database for Organic Compounds (AIST)(http://sdbs.db.aist.go.jp/)
Although assigning DOIs to smaller groups of data makes citation easy, it
may raise some issues such as difficulties in preparing their landing pages or
strange system behavior when data is displayed in a search result. To clarify
these issues, they have experimentally registered data 1) using one DOI for
the whole site data, 2) per compound, and 3) per spectrum.
The result revealed that if the landing page does not have the function to
directly reach the desired data when accessed using the DOI, the URL
description becomes very difficult. Especially, when one set of data isdisplayed using several frames, it cannot be expressed using one URL.
3.4.4 Addition and modification of data after DOI registration
Once data has been registered, it is not expected that the data will change.
However, dynamic data can be added or modified later. There are two ways tohandle the situation: maintaining the same DOI or registering another DOI.
Using the original DOI after data is added
The following are possible methods to handle data:
Ex. 1) Use version control. When adding data, or correcting or modifying
methods used to obtain or process it, compensation or errors, create a
new version, write a version description on the landing page, andprovide links to each version of the data.
Ex. 2) When adding data, or correcting or modifying methods used toobtain or process it, compensation or errors, write the facts and- 13 -

detailed information as a history record on the landing page.
Ex. 3) When observational data is added at appropriate times, maintainthe original DOI as it is and do not perform version control.
It is recommended that these examples are optimized to suit the features ofthe data and its field.
Registering another DOI after data is added[Example]

The following are possible methods to handle data:
Ex. 1) Use version control. Write information on each version in themetadata of the original DOI data and the added DOI data.
Ex. 2) When the data is an observational data set that has been obtained
over a long time, give another sequential name to the newly obtained
data set that contains the data obtained over a certain period of time(e.g. one year) and register DOIs for each data set.
After another DOI is registered, it is recommended that the data specified[Recommended]by the original DOI is stored as it is. However, it may be difficult or evenbecome useless to maintain data that has been entirely modified. When theoriginal data set becomes unable to be accessed for that reason, thelanding page must be maintained and the reason must be written on thepage.
3.4.5 Relationship with the quantity of data and the number of files
Granularity of data in DOI registration is not relevant to the quantity of data
and the number of files. Although one DOI corresponds to the metadata and thelanding page on a one-to-one basis, the actual data to be registered may be anumber of files. In that case, one landing page includes one set of metadata andmultiple links to the files.
[Example]

3.4.6 Assigning a suffix
A suffix consists of a simple character string to identify the DOI and originallyhas no meaning nor syntactic structure in itself. Administrators can choose any
manageable rules: strings that are randomly generated or strings that show
meanings and structure of the data. The latter strings can be easily understoodand are intended to facilitate data management and utilization. However, if
suffixes include changeable names (i.e. organization name, project name, etc.),- 14 -

careful consideration is needed because DOIs are used to access data for along time.
Ex.)・ (prefix)/(sub-organization name).(DB name)-(Identifier in DB)
Ex.: 10.14977/05.tdbs-23732
10.14977/05.gsj-aster-xxxx
・ (prefix)/(Acronym of institution).(Serial number)
Ex.: 10.11503/nims.1001
・ (prefix)/(random number)
Ex.: 10.17591/55838dbd6c0ad[Mandatory]

3.5 DOI landing page
Data for DOI registration may be published with or without access restrictions,but the landing page for the DOI must not have access restrictions. Whether thedata is accessed with/without restrictions must be indicated on the landing page.
It is recommended that the landing page includes mandatory items of JaLC
metadata (DOI, Creator, Title, Publisher, Publication Year) and the following
items:・ Rules for data citation
・ Access with/without restrictions
・ History of addition, modification and removal
・ Data format
・ License to use data (Creative Commons license or the license defined by
the institution)
・ Metadata specific to the research field, etc.
Metadata specific to other fields related to the research field is also usefulfor researchers and specialists in the field.

- 15 -[Recommended]TitleAbstract
Data citation method(Including DOI)

Generalcharacteristics

Links to data andcited content

Data version

Update history of
the landing page
Figure 3-6. An example of a landing page
(Source: doi: 10.17591/55838dbd6c0ad)

3.6 Establishing your own DOI registration policy
It is recommended that institutions establish their own DOI registration policy
in writing before starting to register DOIs in the light of 3.1 to 3.5 above. In thepolicy, operations and the person responsible in each step of the life cycle ofdata (data modification timing, application flow, etc.) are defined to ensure thatthe DOIs maintain accessibility and smooth operations. It is especially useful foreach project to establish a data management policy that conforms to the data
management policy of the institution before the project ends.
- 16 -[Recommended]4. Case studies■

Arctic Data Archive System (ADS), National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)(Features)・ A project undertaken by one institution
・ Target: Experimental and observational data on the Arctic and Antarctic
・ Systematic DOI registration with JaLC instead of internal data management
・ A system that controls data quality has been established.
(Overview of DOI registration)
ADS Metadata Registration System (ADS-AMS) manages metadata and archives data
in a unified way. Researchers create metadata and actual data. When they register
metadata in the system, the system checks the metadata in accordance with the ADS
metadata schema and provides feedback to registrants.
ADS-AMS allows only administrators to register DOIs in accordance with the DOI
assignment policy of NIPR. Landing pages for all registered data are createdautomatically based on their metadata.

ADS metadata

Figure 4-1. Arctic Data Archive System (ADS)- 17 -

■

Data Integration and Analysis System Program (DIAS-P)(Features)
・ Targets: Data created by DIAS-P itself as the first priority, and data collected or
created by other institutions under collaborative projects
・ Data provided by other institutions is copyrighted by its creators. DOI assignmentand granularity of DOI assignment are determined under an agreement withcreators.
・ The target field is geoscience (earth observation data, satellite observation data,
meteorological prediction models, climate change prediction models and other social
data).
(Overview of DOI registration)
・ As a practical solution, granularity of data sets to which DOIs are assigned will be thesame as for data sets currently provided by DIAS.
・ The DOI landing page for each data set is expected to be created from document
metadata for the data set created by DIAS.
・ JaLC metadata are created from metadata defined by DIAS and registered with
JaLC and DataCite during the DIAS data publication process.
・ Since the existence of DIAS as a permanent organization is not guaranteed, actual
DOI registration is not conducted during the period of this project.

- 18 -

DOI registration with DIAS
Data user
Data provider
DIAS administrator

Send data.

Create DIAS metadata.

Search, download
DIAS storage server

DIAS metadata

Landing page

Create JaLC
metadata.

Data provider

DIAS administrator(1) Request data publication.

Judge whether the data can be
published upon request.

System to use

JaLC/DOI(2) Discuss file transfer method, data DIAS metadata management system Choose DOIs to be
ID, and metadata creator with theassigned to data.
data provider(3) Send files to DIAS.

Store the files.

DIAS storage server(4) Ask the data provider to create
metadata.
(5) Input metadata.

Check the metadata and progress.

DIAS metadata management system(6) Allocate the files to the DIAS
public server.

Storage server that can be accessedfrom outside of DIAS

(7) Check files to be downloaded and DIAS data download system
register the files in the system that
Search and Discovery System foruses the files.
DIAS Datasets
Applications developed by DIAS foreach data(8) Check terms of data use and citation and ensure that allunderstand DIAS terms of use and citation.

DIAS metadata management system(JaLC registration metadata output
function)(Landing page creation function)
Search and Discovery System for
DIAS Datasets(9) Set individual access privileges tothe data for each application (noauthentication, agreement with terms
of use, application for use).

Register DOI, JaLC
registration
metadata, andlanding pageaddress to JaLC

DIAS data download system
Applications developed by DIAS foreach data(Landing page edit function)(10) Publicize data. Users run applications to use and download data.
(11) Users can resolve data using DOIs, which are available for citation.

Issues: Specification (interpretation) changes to integrate new items into DIAS metadata (ISO19139)

Figure 4-2. DOI registration with DIAS
- 19 -■

National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)(Features)
・ Target: Images obtained with electron microscopes in materials science
・ Collaboration between the existing data archive system and DOI registration system(Overview of DOI registration)
A separate DOI management system has been established to provide a DOI
registration function via “NIMS eSciDoc,” an institutional repository and self-archive
system without a DOI registration function.
Registration and publication of research data is done by researchers, and DOI
registration is done by the Scientific Information Office.

Workflow and Dataflow of DOI Assignment in NIMS eSciDoc
1. Login

2. Upload

3. Publication

NIMS staff

Log into
LDAP.

Log into DOI
management
system using
ORCID.

Upload items.

Request DOI
assignment withJaLC.

Publish items on
NIMS eSciDoc.

NIMS eSciDoc DOI management system
Save JaLC DOI in
NIMS eSciDoc.

Save NIMS eSciDoc
URL in the DOI
management system.

Save the JaLC
DOI in the DOI
management
system.
Generate URL
of NIMSeSciDoc.

Send URL of
NIMS eSciDoc
to SAMURAI.

Figure 4-3. Workflow and Dataflow of DOI Assignment in NIMS eSciDoc
Note: Actual DOI registration is under consideration.

- 20 -

■

RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI)
Neuroinformatics Japan Center (NIJC)(Features)
・ Target: Data contained in databases for neuroscience
・ DOI registration support function using the existing database building system isunder consideration.
・ Peer review of research data will be conducted.
(Overview of DOI registration)
Using data registration, review, and management functions of XooNIps (a Web
database building system), building a system to support processes until assignmentof DOIs to research data for each platform (PF) is under consideration. The flow of
DOI registration includes provision of metadata from operators of each PF, review ofdata to check conformity with the DOI registration policy, and management ofregistered DOIs.

Flow of DOI Registration
JaLC DOI registration
JaLC registration page

Review
Metadata
management by
XooNIps

Acceptance by peer reviewers andsignature of PF chairperson are required.

Enter metadata for DOI registration.
Review results
PF databases

Figure 4-4. Flow of DOI Registration in NIJC
Note: Actual DOI registration is under consideration.

- 21 -

5. Bibliography[1] DataCite, "DataCite," [Online]. Available: http://www.datacite.org/. [Accessed: May 25,
2015].
[2] ©International DOI Foundation, "DOI®Handbook," 17 March 2014. [Online]. Available:
http://www.doi.org/hb.html. [Accessed: June 28, 2015].
[3] Japan Link Center. [Online]. Available: https://japanlinkcenter.org/top/index.html.
[Accessed: May 25, 2015].
[4] Japan Link Center, "What is the Japan Link Center? – History and principles," July 28,
2014, [in Japanese]. [Online]. Available: http://doi.org/10.11502/jalc_policy. [Accessed:
May 25, 2015].
[5] DataCite, "DataCite Metadata Schema for the Publication and Citation of Research Data,"
June 2015. [Online]. Available: http://doi.org/10.5438/0010. [Accessed: September 10,2015].
[6] DataCite, "DataCite Metadata Schema Repository," [Online]. Available:
http://schema.datacite.org/. [Accessed: May 25, 2015].
[7] J. Starr, "isCitedBy: A Metadata Scheme for DataCite," January/February 2011. [Online].
Available: http://doi.org/10.1045/january2011-starr. [Accessed: September 10, 2015].
[8] Japan Link Center, "JaLC Technical Information," [in Japanese]. [Online]. Available:
https://japanlinkcenter.org/top/admission/index.html#member_technical. [Accessed:
September 10, 2015].
[9] MEXT, Government of Japan, "Guidelines for Responding to Misconduct in Research,"
August 2014, [in Japanese]. [Online]. Available:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/jinzai/fusei/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2015/07/13/1359618_01.pdf[Accessed: May 22, 2015].
[10] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, "The Expert Panel on Open Science, based on
Global Perspectives," 2015, [in Japanese]. [Online]. Available:
http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/sonota/openscience/. [Accessed: May 11, 2015].

- 22 -

Glossary of Terms
CrossRef
A leading RA in the US. Mainly handles articles for DOI name registration.
(http://www.crossref.org/)
DataCite
An RA that handles research data. The consortium, which was founded in 2009 by European
universities and libraries, is operated by the German National Library of Science andTechnology (TIB). (http://www.datacite.org/)
DOI
Acronym for “Digital Object Identifier”. Refer to the DOI Handbook.
Identifiers that are permanently assigned to materials on the Internet.
A typical DOI name is a character string such as “10.1246/nikkashi1898.1.1.” The prefix“10.1246” is a directory indicator that is assigned by the International DOI Foundation. The
suffix “nikkashi1898.1.1” is an identifier that is assigned by the entity (in this case, the Chemical
Society of Japan) that registers the DOI name. When you resolve a DOI name using yourbrowser, the DOI name is appended to URL “http://doi.org”, i.e.
http://doi.org/10.1241/johokanri.56.881.
DOI prefix
A directory indicator that is assigned by IDF. Refer to “DOI.”
DOI suffix
A directory indicator that is assigned by a registrant. Refer to “DOI.”
DOI registration
Assigning a DOI name to content and registering (depositing) it with URL and metadata with anRA.
DOI resolution, DOI resolver
DOI resolution is a process to obtain the URL of the Web page on which the content or
metadata are present by submitting a DOI name. A DOI resolver is a network service that
resolves DOI names.

- 23 -

IDF
Acronym for “the International DOI Foundation.” (http://www.doi.org/)JaLC system
An Internet service that manages domestic electronic documents using DOIs.
JaLC is the acronym for “Japan Link Center.”prefixSame as DOI prefix in the context of this document. Refer to DOI prefix.
assignment and return of a prefix
IDF assigns prefixes to each RA, which assigns the prefix to an organization or a project thathas requested the registration of a DOI name.
RA
Acronym for “(IDF) Registration Agency,” which offers services for DOI registration.
registrant
An organization that requests and receives the registration of DOI names for their journal
articles, books, reports and other electronic documents.
suffixSame as DOI suffix in the context of this document. Refer to DOI suffix.
depositTo deposit, which means to put something where it will be safe, means to register electronic
data in the context of this document.
For example, a registrant deposits metadata and main body converted into the XML format with
the JaLC system.
multiple resolution
Generally, a DOI name links to a single Web page and a resolver returns the URL value.
However, when a registrant wants to link a DOI name to multiple URLs (e.g. when a journal
article is available from multiple web sites), the DOI name can link to an intermediate page thathas all the different associated URLs using multiple resolution.

- 24 -

metadata
The data that provide an overview of information for information retrieval systems is called
metadata. In the library and information science field, it is sometimes called bibliographic
information. For example, metadata of a document usually includes the author, title, publication
date and keywords.
metadata schema
A data structure for metadata. In the information retrieval field, metadata schemas are usually
defined using XML.
landing page
A Web page that links to a DOI name and is displayed when the DOI name is resolved.
repository
A service that preserves and provides journal articles, research data and other contents.
Examples are: institutional repositories, which preserve and provide digital materials created bylibraries and institutions, and disciplinary repositories, which preserve and provide works anddata associated with these works of scholars in a particular subject area.

- 25 -

Japan Link Center
Experimental Project to Register DOIs for Research Data

Members of the project:
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)
Cyber Science Infrastructure Development Department, National Institute of Informatics (NII)
Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, NII(Members of the Data Integration and Analysis System (DIAS) Project)
NII
Earth Observation Data Integration & Fusion Research Initiative, University of TokyoJapan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University
Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)(Members of WDC)
Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Graduate School of Science,
Kyoto University
WDC for Ionosphere and Space Weather, NICT
Data Center for Aurora, NIPR
Center for Science-satellite Operation and Data Archive, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA)

Chiba University Libraries
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Neuroinformatics Japan Center (NIJC), RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI)(Not in particular order)

Period:October 2014 - October 2015

- 26 -