What are DOIs and why do they matter?
Whether you are a researcher trying to cite a source properly or a journal editor ensuring your journal meets global publishing standards, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) keep the scholarly world connected, organised, and accessible. DOIs are unique, permanent alphanumeric codes assigned to digital content, including academic papers, reports and books. They are like digital fingerprints for scholarly content, making them stable, searchable, and essential for academic communication.
KNE CLUE: WHAT DO DOIs OFFER?
Digital Object Identifiers’ unique features offer permanence, traceability and easier indexing.
Provides Link Permanence
Have you ever clicked on a link to a research paper only to find yourself at a 404 error page? That is exactly the kind of digital dead end that DOIs are designed to prevent. While URLs can change over time, a DOI always points to a document’s current location, even if it has moved. For researchers, this means they can reliably find, cite, and return to sources without worrying about broken links. For editors, this ensures that all content is consistently linkable and accessible, even if the main website is facing issues.
Promotes Integrity and Traceability
Using DOIs in citations helps uphold the integrity and traceability of academic articles. DOIs ensure that every source can be accurately tracked. This allows readers and reviewers to verify claims, trace claims and statements back to their original source, and follow the evolution of an area of research over time. DOIs help journals maintain their credibility and reputation by offering a consistent means of tracking the journal’s content over time. DOIs provide a clear, standardised way to maintain trust and transparency in scholarly communication.
Streamlines Indexing
Since DOIs follow a standard format, they are easy for databases and search engines to find, read, and organise. This is great news for journal editors because once an article has a DOI, it is far more likely to show up in search results, get indexed by platforms like Scopus or Web of Science, and be seen by the right audience. DOIs make it easy to track how many people are reading it, citing it, sharing it, and more. So, whether you are an author hoping your work gets noticed or an editor looking to improve your journal’s impact, DOIs give you the tools to measure and boost visibility.