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 McMurry, Julie A
A1 Juty, Nick
A1 Blomberg, Niklas
A1 Burdett, Tony
A1 Conlin, Tom
A1 Conte, Nathalie
A1 Courtot, Mélanie
A1 Deck, John
A1 Dumontier, Michel
A1 Fellows, Donal K
A1 Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra
A1 Gormanns, Philipp
A1 Grethe, Jeffrey
A1 Hastings, Janna
A1 Hermjakob, Henning
A1 Hériché, Jean-Karim
A1 Ison, Jon C
A1 Jimenez, Rafael C
A1 Jupp, Simon
A1 Kunze, John
A1 Laibe, Camille
A1 Le Novère, Nicolas
A1 Malone, James
A1 Martin, Maria Jesus
A1 McEntyre, Johanna R
A1 Morris, Chris
A1 Muilu, Juha
A1 Müller, Wolfgang
A1 Rocca-Serra, Philippe
A1 Sansone, Susanna-Assunta
A1 Sariyar, Murat
A1 Snoep, Jacky L
A1 Stanford, Natalie J
A1 Soiland-Reyes, Stian
A1 Swainston, Neil
A1 Washington, Nicole
A1 Williams, Alan R
A1 Wimalaratne, Sarala
A1 Winfree, Lilly
A1 Wolstencroft, Katherine
A1 Goble, Carole
A1 Mungall, Christopher J
A1 Haendel, Melissa A
A1 Parkinson, Helen
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.