A persistent identifier for a research instrument, minted under a DataCite DOI or Handle, conforming to the PIDINST metadata schema developed by an RDA Working Group, that enables citation of and provenance back to the instrument that produced data.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 10 Jul 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A research vessel CTD profiler with a DataCite DOI registered as a PIDINST.
Is an instance
A synchrotron beamline assigned a Handle-based PIDINST and cited in every dataset produced on that beamline.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
An internal asset tag sticker on the side of a microscope is not a PIDINST.
Not an instance
A manufacturer's serial number alone is not a PIDINST unless registered with a PID provider.

Editorial commentary

PIDINST emerged from the Research Data Alliance Persistent Identification of Instruments Working Group (2017-2019). The schema covers instrument identifier, owner, manufacturer, model, instrument type, and related identifiers (e.g. the lab’s ROR ID, ORCID of the responsible scientist). Multiple registration agencies (DataCite, ePIC) can mint PIDINST-compliant identifiers. Use cases include attribution of instrument time to facility funding, linking measurements to calibration history, and citing instruments in datasets.

References

Stocker M. et al., 'Persistent Identification of Instruments', Data Science Journal 19(18), 2020.
RDA PIDINST WG, 'Final recommendations on persistent identification of instruments' (rd-alliance.org).

Also known as

Instrument PID · Persistent identifier for instruments

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="PIDINST"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
  "name": "PIDINST",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
  "description": "A persistent identifier for a research instrument, minted under a DataCite DOI or Handle, conforming to the PIDINST metadata schema developed by an RDA Working Group, that enables citation of and provenance back to the instrument that produced data.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/persistent-identifiers#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
  "sameAs": [
    "Instrument PID",
    "Persistent identifier for instruments"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-07-10T02:06:19",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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