[eml-dev] Storing a DOI for a dataset in EML

[Kyle Braak]

Hi eml-dev list, 

I’m trying to figure out the best way to store a DOI for a dataset in EML. 

The DOI resolves to a page where both the data and metadata are available for download, and is intended to be used as a unique identifier for the dataset for example when citing it.

Currently in our EML, we use a packageId on the <eml:eml> element defined in the ID-System “http://gbif.org”. For example:

<eml:eml packageId="6f08304a-43e6-41bd-a3a9-f9bbf93984b3/v1.7" system="http://gbif.org" scope="system">

Below my signature 4 options we’re considering, and I’d greatly appreciate any guidance or feedback on which is best. 

Kind regards,

Kyle Braak
Developer
Secretariat of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø
Denmark, Europe
www.gbif.org


Option 1:

Storing the DOI inside alternateIdentifier. 

The problem I see with this option, however, arises when there are multiple DOI alternateIdentifiers. How to know which is the primary/latest DOI?

Option 2:

Storing the DOI using the citation “identifier” attribute. 

The problem with this option, however, is that it isn’t very prominent hidden away in this location. 

Option 3:

Storing the DOI using the “packageId” attribute. It could include the dataset version number so that each version is always unique. For example:

<eml:eml packageId="doi:10.5886/1bft7W5f_v1.7" scope="system" system="http://doi.org/“>

Option 4:

Storing the DOI using the dataset “id” attribute, in combination with “system” and “scope” attributes to specify that the identifier is defined in the ID-system “http://doi.org/“ For example:

<dataset id="doi:10.5886/1bft7W5f" scope="system" system="http://doi.org/“>

I suspect, however, that this is not best practice assuming “system” should only be defined once on the <eml:eml> element, and scope=“document” should be be used on all other elements. 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecoinformatics/pipermail/eml-dev/attachments/20141127/718126d2/attachment.html>