The PID Graph

Realizing the power ofrelational metadata

Matt Buys

June 15, 2021
Japan Open Science Summit

Todays research,
tomorrow’s discoveries
Discoverability● Increase (/enable) open access to the results of research● Ensure the dissemination and reuse of research

Trust● Recognize the impact and reuse of research outputs● Preserve the research data used in studies● Bring more rigor to the scholarly record

PIDs and metadata
It is important that the focus is not exclusively persistent identifiers (PIDs) metadata and services that the PIDs are part of is more important than just thePIDs.
We should coordinate with the broader PID ecosystem - ensuring relations inthe metadata.

Research is already a graphaffnoiilia tAuthor

a ut horshtupin

ip

DatasetPublication

Institutiona f f ilia t ionAuthortu
api
hsroh

reus
eSoftwaref un
di ngau

AuthorpihsrothPublication

The PID Graph
DataCite continue to work on connecting existing persistent identifiers to eachother in standardized ways, e.g. to the outputs associated with a particularresearcher, repository, institution or funder, for discovery and impact
assessment. This is possible using relational metadataPeople, places and things
The DataCite metadata schema supports linking people, places and things
using identifiers. The API that powers the PID Graph, the graph formed byscholarly resources described by persistent identifiers (PIDs) and theconnections between the FAIR Digital Objects (FDOs).
The technology is powered by GraphQL, a widely adopted Open Source
technology that enables queries of this graph, addressing use cases of ourcommunity in ways that were not possible before.
We continue to extend the PID Graph and include various other identifiers in
the relational metadata.

Meaning through metadata
We can link PIDs together via relations in their metadata to enable thediscovery of connections at least two “hops” away.
We know this relationfrom the metadata

AWe know this relationfrom the metadata

BCWe know this relationfrom to the PID Graph
The work on DataCite Commons and PID Graph is supported by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 777523.

Building services using thePID Graph
It is possible for institutions to build platforms or services that make use of thePID Graph.
DataCite has developed a GraphQL API. This is the most convenient way toconsume the PID Graph with DataCite metadata as a starting point.
GraphQL is a query language that’s specially built for graphs. It lets you
specify exactly which information you want and in what structure you’d like toreceive it. In other words, the PID Graph allows a “known query search” andenables several downstream use cases to understand relationships between
research objects (people, places and things).

DataCite Commons:
Leveraging the PID Graph

Citations and usage

PID Relations

Creators, citations and usage

Metadata to improvediscoverability and trust● Rights - The Rights field is where you can include information about the data’s

content license (like CC0). When this information is in the metadata for the dataset,it helps researchers to quickly see at a glance whether the data being described issomething they’ll be able to use. This information is also important for harvesters
who are trying to assemble lists of readily available datasets.
● Description - The Description field may at first seem not particularly critical, butabstracts and other descriptive information is often mined for emerging trends. In acase like the current epidemic, where “COVID-19” might not be a typical controlled
vocabulary term, it may be possible to surface articles on this topic by mining
abstracts. Note that our schema documentation also recommends providing an
English-language abstract to enable wider dissemination.

Metadata to improvediscoverability and trust● RelatedIdentifier - This one may go without saying. RelatedIdentifiers are always

important for linking resources together. This is the information that DataCite uses
for our citation counts and to feed the PID Graph. Having this RelatedIdentifier
information is also helpful for following a trail of research from dataset to article toauthor to institution and so on.
● Subject - The Subject field is where you can include information about subjects

that are relevant for the item the DOI points to. Under the current implementation ofthe DataCite Metadata Schema, this field is free text, so you can add any keywords
that might be relevant to the item, whether or not they’re part of a controlled
vocabulary. If you would like to follow a scheme of vocabulary, you’re not restrictedin the subject scheme you can specify. It can be helpful to comply with communityspecific standards, such as using MeSH subject headings for medical topics orusing DFG subjects for German-funded research, for example.

Culture change

Source: https://www.cos.io/blog/strategy-for-culture-changeCollaboration across key
stakeholders● Focus on improving scholarly infrastructure through use cases. The collaborative

activities should ensure that we continue to improve scholarly infrastructure throughaddressing use cases, telling stories and showing the benefit to all involved.
● Fostering open and inclusive relationships. Our partnerships should always ensurethat that we create an open and inclusive environment for the community toparticipate.
● Building a trusted ecosystem. Trust is an integral component for community culturechange.

Get involved!

Email us:matt.buys@datacite.org

Follow us:@datacite

Talk to us:
pidforum.org

Read about us:
datacite.org

Get support:
support.datacite.org
support@datacite.org