LSHTM Data Compass
Digital Object Identifier Policy
1. Introduction
A Persistent Identifier (PID) is a label or attribute assigned to a resource that enables it to be uniquely identified within
a specific context for the entire period it is needed. The application of Persistent Identifiers to identify resources –
digital or physical - is essential for the performance of public health research. For a domain that takes an average of
17 years for new discoveries to be transferred from research into practice1, it is essential that published resources can
be cited in a form that enables it to be located in the long-term.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a Persistent Identifier standard (ISO 26324:20122) maintained by the International DOI
Foundation for the purpose of identifying digital resources. It is implemented by a federation of registration agencies3,
including CrossRef, DataCite and mEDRA, which oversee its application for specific resource types.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine maintains a contract with the British Library, the UK representative
of DataCite (https://www.datacite.org/) that permits it to register DOIs and assign them to research datasets. These
are assigned through ‘LSHTM Data Compass’, the School’s research data repository.
2. Obligations
The School commits to perform the following activities in order to fulfil DataCite obligations for the registration and
assignment of DOIs:

DOIs minted by LSHTM will resolve to a publicly accessible landing page published in LSHTM Data Compass or a
designated alternative system, for at least 10 years after they have been registered. This landing page will contain
the DOI and core metadata, as a minimum.

LSHTM will submit DateCite metadata describing each item record to the DataCite Metadata Store
(https://mds.datacite.org/) at the time of DOI registration.

DataCite metadata deposited into their MetaData Store will be licensed under the terms of Creative Commons
Zero (CC0)4.

Depositor’s wishing to update metadata fields in an item record, particularly DataCite metadata, must seek
permission from the LSHTM RDM Service beforehand.

Allocated DOIs will be associated with the item record for the time that they are valid and will not be re-allocated
to a new or existing item record, e.g. one that contains a new version of a dataset. Instead, a new DOI will be
assigned.
1
http://jrs.sagepub.com/content/104/12/510.full
http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=43506
3
http://www.doi.org/registration_agencies.html
4
http://creativecommons.org/about/cc0
2
3. DOI assignment eligibility
The LSHTM are permitted to assign DOIs to research data and/or associated documentation only. Other digital
resources, such as research papers, books, reports and other publications are out of scope.
3.1.
Data Collection record
A DOI will be assigned to a Data Collection record if one of the following conditions are met:

A dataset has been uploaded to LSHTM Data Compass and made available under appropriate access conditions.
This includes data made available for unrestricted access, restricted access (e.g. to registered users) and that which
is embargoed.

A dataset has been deposited with the RDM Service for storage on the LSHTM Secure Server and the Data
Collection record states that the data is available on request. This covers data that cannot be stored on public
webservers (e.g. due to the sensitivity of the topic), but which can be shared if appropriate conditions are met.

The dataset is made available through a LSHTM-managed website that publicly states its commitment to
maintaining the system for a minimum of 5 years. For example, a consortium data management system.
A DOI will be refused in the following circumstances:

The Depositor fails to provide the mandatory DataCite metadata elements.

The Data Collection record states that the data is available on request, but refuses to deposit it into LSHTM Data
Compass, transfer it to the LSHTM Secure Server, provide a copy to the RDM Service, or state where it is hosted.

Metadata cannot be published under a CC0 “No rights reserved” licence

A DOI has already been assigned to the data collection by a third party

The dataset is hosted on a system that is not hosted by LSHTM
3.2.
Project record
A DOI will be assigned to a Project record on condition that the following condition is met:

A Data Management Plan has been uploaded to LSHTM Data Compass and made available for public access
A DOI will be refused in the following circumstances:

The project record refers to an ephemeral virtual collection, such as that produced for a teaching module.

The Depositor fails to provide the mandatory DataCite metadata elements.

Metadata cannot be published under a CC0 “No rights reserved” licence

A DOI has already been assigned to the data collection by a third party
4. Contact
Questions related to the Digital Object Identifier Policy should be directed to the Research Data Management Support
Service. (researchdatamanagement@lshtm.ac.uk).
5. Review Schedule and Responsibility
This policy will be reviewed annually by the LSHTM Research Data Manager
May 2015.
5. Definitions

DataCite metadata: A set of five metadata elements that must be submitted to the DataCite Metadata Store (MDS)
as a condition of obtaining a DOI. These are: Identifier (with type attribute), Creator (with name identifier
attributes), Title (with optional type attribute), Publisher, and Publication Year. Further information on DataCite’s
mandatory and optional elements can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.5438/0005.

DataCite Metadata Store: An online service maintained by DataCite that is used to register and assign a DOI, in
return for the submission of DataCite metadata. Datacite metadata is used to populate the DataCite Metadata
Search Engine (http://search.datacite.org/ui)

Item Record: A metadata record held in LSHTM Data Compass that is used to generate a landing page. LSHTM Data
Compass supports two item types: Data Collection Record and Project Record.

Landing Page: A human readable web page made available with no access barriers which provides information
about the research data.