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    G06 · TOPIC · publication-registrationsGCRI dossier · service level R0
    GCRINexus RegistryEstablished
    Topic dossier · Nexus Registry

    Publication registrations

    A publication registration attaches a persistent identifier and a structured description to a work so that it can be found, cited and linked for as long as the record lasts. The identifier only works if the metadata behind it is accurate and the link still resolves. This page sets out how registration works through agencies such as Crossref and DataCite, what makes registration metadata trustworthy, and where registrations fail in ways that ripple into citation, funding and assessment.

    Make an enquiry Back to Topics
    DossierG06 · topic
    1. 01In briefDefinition and scope
    2. 02The question4 mechanisms
    3. 03Key terms3
    4. 04FieldH3 field plate
    5. 05Indicators8
    6. 06PipelineRun graph
    7. 07Sources7
    8. 08Decision holders4
    9. 09Methods3

    GCRI · Established · service level R0

    01In brief

    The short answer.

    DOI registration is the assignment of a Digital Object Identifier and structured metadata to a work through an agency such as Crossref or DataCite, so it can be found, cited and linked over time. A DOI guarantees a persistent reference, not quality, and it works only while its metadata is accurate and its target resolves.

    02Geography

    People and hazards in World.

    For publication registrations, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, land cover and population density with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on World; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

    The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

    Layers 3

    People and hazards, for this page

    Latest available

    NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

    Loading the latest NASA imagery.

    Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

    For publication registrations, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on true-colour imagery, land cover and population density with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on World; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

    Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · GDACS · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A · NASA HLS S30Sources and licences

    • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
    • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • GHRSST Level 4 MUR analyses, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
    • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
    • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
    • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
    • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
    • Live: GDACS (EC JRC / UN OCHA) Events are indicative, not official warnings.
    • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
    • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
    • Optional layers (35 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

    Layers and dates

    • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
    • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
    • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
    • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
    • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
    • Sea surface temperature anomaly: GHRSST MUR25, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026

    03Console

    Record ledger, in outline.

    The working screen behind this subject: its structure, terms and states. Names are placeholders and values illustrative.

    Record ledger

    Publication registrations · Registry · Ledger head 9810659

    • Records registered
      5110
    • Complete provenance, % of records
      95Normal
    • Open corrections
      7Watch
    • Rights holds
      3Info
    Integrity check passedGCRI · Nexus Registry

    Latest records

    NX-R-01836Programme statusv35638543Registered
    NX-P-72194Publicationv19858170Registered
    NX-E-42250Evidence recordv35604753Correction open
    NX-C-37438Participationv16211607Rights hold

    Version history

    1. v1NEWRegistered with sources
    2. v2FIXUnit corrected, reason recorded
    3. v3OPENCorrection requested
    Record ledger: the screen's structure, terms and states for Publication registrations.Placeholder names and illustrative values; a design, not a record or a live system.
    04The question

    Publication registrations: how the risk develops.

    Publication metadata and identifiers. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.

    Mechanism

    Identifier without a target

    A DOI resolves to a landing page that has moved, lapsed or been replaced. The identifier persists while the thing it named becomes unreachable, and every citation that uses it now leads nowhere useful.

    Mechanism

    Duplicate registrations

    The same work is registered twice, by publisher and repository, or as preprint and article without a relation between them. Citations and usage split across identifiers, and one work appears to be two.

    Mechanism

    Metadata drift

    Titles, authors, affiliations or funding are corrected on the landing page but not in the registered metadata, or the reverse. Downstream indexes copy whichever state they harvested, and the record diverges across systems.

    Mechanism

    Assessment inherits the errors

    Funders, institutions and rankings count outputs from registration metadata. Missing contributor identifiers, unresolved affiliations and absent award identifiers credit work to the wrong people, the wrong organisation or to no funder at all.

    05Key terms

    Terms used on this page.

    Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

    TermDefinition
    Digital Object IdentifierA persistent identifier standardised as ISO 26324 that resolves to a work's current location.
    ORCID iDA persistent identifier for a researcher, held in the ORCID registry.
    ROR IDA persistent identifier for a research organisation in the Research Organization Registry.
    06Indicators

    What is measured, and how well.

    Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.

    IndicatorUnitCadenceSource typeLabel
    Registered outputs with a persistent identifiershare of outputsmonthlyRegistration agency metadataREPORTED
    Identifier resolution successshare of resolution attemptsweeklyResolver probesOBSERVED
    Metadata completenessshare of recommended fields populatedmonthlyAgency participation reportsOBSERVED
    Contributors with an ORCID iDshare of contributorsmonthlyRegistration metadataOBSERVED
    Affiliations with a ROR IDshare of affiliationsmonthlyRegistration metadataOBSERVED
    Outputs with funder and award identifiersshare of funded outputsmonthlyRegistration metadataOBSERVED
    Suspected duplicate registrationscountquarterlyTitle and contributor matchingESTIMATED
    Agreement between landing page and metadatashare of sampled recordsquarterlySampled comparisonOBSERVED
    07Canvas

    From sources to decisions.

    The topic as a computational graph: named sources feed the methods, an evidence review gates the outputs, and the decisions stay with the authorities that hold them.

    Pipeline canvas · Publication registrations as a run graphDesign, not a record
    Publication registrations: an edition from outline to correctionAn outline is agreed; chapters are drafted; every value is traced in the data check; peer reviewers with declared conflicts review; the editor decides; the edition is released with an identifier and corrected only by new versions. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

    Fig. 02Nodes carry their type, two metric rows and a state; connectors show what feeds what; dashed frames name the owners; the timeline is the cadence. Design of the pipeline, not a record of a run.

    08Sources

    Where the evidence comes from.

    Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.

    SourceWhat it givesLicence class
    Crossref metadataDOI metadata for journal articles, books, preprints, conference papers, grants and moreOpen metadata, no restrictions on reuse
    DataCite metadataDOI metadata for datasets, software, instruments and other research outputsCC0
    ORCID registryContributor identifiers and the works, affiliations and awards linked to themCC0 for the public data file
    ROR (Research Organization Registry)Affiliation identifiers for the organisations named in registrationsCC0
    ISSN PortalIdentifiers and key titles for serial publicationsBasic records open; full records by subscription from the ISSN International Centre
    OpenAlexAn open index of works, authors, institutions and venues built from registration and other metadataCC0
    Crossref Participation ReportsField-level metadata completeness for each member organisationOpen
    09Decisions

    Who decides, and what the evidence serves.

    Nexus Registry prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.

    Who decidesThe questionEvidence this page serves
    Publishers and repository managersWhich metadata to deposit, and how to fix incomplete or duplicated registrationsCompleteness against the agency schema, resolution checks and suspected duplicates
    Institutional librariansWhich outputs to report for the institution and how to attribute themContributor and affiliation identifiers in the registered metadata
    FundersWhich outputs to attribute to an award in reporting and evaluationFunder and award identifiers in registrations, checked against the award record
    Registration agenciesHow to support members whose deposits fall short of schema or resolution requirementsField-level completeness and resolution records for the member's identifiers

    Outputs this topic produces

    • Registration views showing identifier, registration agency, metadata fields and resolution state
    • Metadata completeness checks against the agency schema before deposit
    • Relation maps linking preprints, versions of record, datasets and software
    • Lists of suspected duplicate registrations for steward review
    10Core questions

    What experts ask about registrations.

    • Which metadata fields are needed for discovery, and which for verification?
    • How should versions, translations and derived works relate to one another?
    • How are authors, institutions and funders identified unambiguously?
    • What should an identifier resolve to after a work is withdrawn?
    • How can registration status avoid being read as a quality judgement?
    11Mechanisms

    How persistent identifiers work.

    Web addresses break when sites are reorganized. Persistent identifier systems separate a work's identity from its location: a registration agency issues an identifier, the publisher maintains the metadata and the current location, and a resolver redirects readers. Digital Object Identifiers are the familiar example for publications and datasets, with parallel open identifiers for researchers and research organizations.

    Registration also creates relationships. A record can state that a report is a new version of an earlier one, that it is translated from another, that it relies on a dataset or that it has been corrected. When those relations are recorded consistently, a reader holding any version can find all the others.

    12Methods and limits

    What a good registration holds.

    1. 01

      Descriptive metadata

      Title, contributors with their roles, dates, language, abstract and subject terms, in an open schema.

    2. 02

      Relations

      Links to versions, corrections, datasets and methods, so the record sits in a graph rather than alone.

    3. 03

      Rights and access

      The licence and access conditions, consistent with rights and disclosure.

    4. 04

      Limits

      Metadata quality varies with the care of whoever supplies it. An identifier proves that a work was registered, not that it was reviewed or is correct, and identifier systems depend on the institutions that maintain them.

    13Methods

    How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.

    1. Data engineering, interoperability and stewardshipSchema-validated ingestion · Persistent identifier reconciliation · Lineage capture in pipelinesApplied here
      Canonical · STEM Commons
    2. Digital identity and public digital systemsIssuer authentication and authority · Contributor disambiguation by the personApplied here
      Canonical · STEM Commons
    3. Cybersecurity and cryptographyTamper-evident record history · Signed exports and releases · Threat modelling of edit pathsApplied here
      Canonical · STEM Commons
    14Questions

    Questions and answers.

    What does a DOI guarantee?
    That the identifier is unique and that its registrant has committed to keep it resolving to a current location. It does not guarantee the quality, review status or truth of the work it names.
    Why do some works have two DOIs?
    Usually because a preprint and a published article, or a repository copy and a publisher copy, were registered separately. Relation metadata should link them; when it does not, citations split.
    Should datasets and software be registered?
    Yes, where they are cited or reused. DataCite and similar agencies register them so they can be credited, versioned and linked to the publications that depend on them.
    Why do contributor and affiliation identifiers matter?
    Because names are ambiguous. ORCID iDs and ROR IDs in the metadata let funders, institutions and indexes attribute a work to the right people and organisations without guessing from text.
    Does a registered publication mean it was peer reviewed?
    No. Registration records that a work exists and how to cite it. Its review status is stated separately, as recorded.
    Can a publication have more than one identifier?
    It can, for example a report identifier and a dataset identifier. The Registry records each and the relations between them.
    What happens to an identifier if a work is withdrawn?
    It keeps resolving, to a notice that explains the withdrawal and points to any replacement.
    Related

    Around Nexus Registry.

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