Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) for Dataset Elements to Enhance the FAIR Principles

Abstract

The current PID assignments at the study or dataset level in the Social Sciences are insufficient to disambiguate data citation. It needs a more granular identification to allow for precise data identification and to overcome the widespread inconsistency in data referencing practices. Existing methods lead to ambiguity, reliance on inadequate metadata, and difficulties in data retrieval, while PIDs for dataset elements enhance FAIR principles and improve research visibility. In this sense, we present the PIDs registration service for individual dataset elements by KonsortSWD of the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). This service is a pivotal advancement, addressing the challenges in data citation by enabling fine-grained referencing, thereby improving research integrity and transparency. The technical solution developed within the KonsortSWD's PID service uses the ePic API, using the Handle standard, and is highly compliant with the RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model due to its machine-actionable features such as enabled citation tracking for enhanced data findability and interoperability.