A persistent identifier (typically a DataCite DOI, but also IGSN for samples, Handle, ARK, or other PID-scheme identifier) assigned to a research dataset to support stable citation, attribution, and resolution over the long term.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 16 Jul 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A DataCite DOI 10.5061/dryad.xxxx assigned to a Dryad dataset.
Is an instance
A Handle-based identifier issued by a Fedora repository for a deposited dataset.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A relative path on a personal webpage is not a persistent data identifier.
Not an instance
An internal database row ID is not a persistent data identifier unless published with a PID.

Editorial commentary

While ‘persistent identifier’ is the general term across all entity types, ‘persistent data identifier’ specifically denotes PIDs minted for datasets and their parts. The DataCite ecosystem is the dominant infrastructure, but Handle-based repositories (older repositories on Fedora) also issue persistent data identifiers. The Force11 Joint Declaration’s principle 4 (‘Unique Identification’) makes the persistent data identifier the operational anchor of data citation.

References

Brase J., ‘DataCite — a global registration agency for research data’, 2009.
Force11 Data Citation Synthesis Group.

Also known as

Data PID · Dataset DOI

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Persistent data identifier"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-data-identifier" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-data-identifier",
  "name": "Persistent data identifier",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-data-identifier",
  "description": "A persistent identifier (typically a DataCite DOI, but also IGSN for samples, Handle, ARK, or other PID-scheme identifier) assigned to a research dataset to support stable citation, attribution, and resolution over the long term.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/persistent-identifiers#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/persistent-data-identifier",
  "sameAs": [
    "Data PID",
    "Dataset DOI"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-07-16T08:16:41",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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