RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Identifiers for the 21st century: How to design, provision, and reuse persistent identifiers to maximize utility and impact of life science data
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 117812
DO 10.1101/117812
A1 Julie A McMurry
A1 Nick Juty
A1 Niklas Blomberg
A1 Tony Burdett
A1 Tom Conlin
A1 Nathalie Conte
A1 Mélanie Courtot
A1 John Deck
A1 Michel Dumontier
A1 Donal K Fellows
A1 Alejandra Gonzalez-Beltran
A1 Philipp Gormanns
A1 Jeffrey Grethe
A1 Janna Hastings
A1 Henning Hermjakob
A1 Jean-Karim Hériché
A1 Jon C Ison
A1 Rafael C Jimenez
A1 Simon Jupp
A1 John Kunze
A1 Camille Laibe
A1 Nicolas Le Novère
A1 James Malone
A1 Maria Jesus Martin
A1 Johanna R McEntyre
A1 Chris Morris
A1 Juha Muilu
A1 Wolfgang Müller
A1 Philippe Rocca-Serra
A1 Susanna-Assunta Sansone
A1 Murat Sariyar
A1 Jacky L Snoep
A1 Natalie J Stanford
A1 Stian Soiland-Reyes
A1 Neil Swainston
A1 Nicole Washington
A1 Alan R Williams
A1 Sarala Wimalaratne
A1 Lilly Winfree
A1 Katherine Wolstencroft
A1 Carole Goble
A1 Christopher J Mungall
A1 Melissa A Haendel
A1 Helen Parkinson
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/20/117812.abstract
AB In many disciplines, data is highly decentralized across thousands of online databases (repositories, registries, and knowledgebases). Wringing value from such databases depends on the discipline of data science and on the humble bricks and mortar that make integration possible; identifiers are a core component of this integration infrastructure. Drawing on our experience and on work by other groups, we outline ten lessons we have learned about the identifier qualities and best practices that facilitate large-scale data integration. Specifically, we propose actions that identifier practitioners (database providers) should take in the design, provision and reuse of identifiers; we also outline important considerations for those referencing identifiers in various circumstances, including by authors and data generators. While the importance and relevance of each lesson will vary by context, there is a need for increased awareness about how to avoid and manage common identifier problems, especially those related to persistence and web-accessibility/resolvability. We focus strongly on web-based identifiers in the life sciences; however, the principles are broadly relevant to other disciplines.