DOI Service

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique identifier for an online resource.  DOIs are routinely assigned to research outputs such as journal articles, conference papers, reports, dissertations and data sets.

You may see DOIs presented as a link. For example:

http://doi.org/10.7190/456123-789

or

http://dx.doi.org/10.7190/456abc.123

Sometimes DOIs are presented as just the DOI name. For example:

10.7190/456123abc.789

If you have a DOI name and you want to find the resource it identifies, copy and paste the DOI name into ‘Resolve a DOI name‘ or into a web search engine such as Google.

Below are some reasons why you may want to request a DOI for your output.

Stable access – a DOI provides a persistent link directly to the output.  Even if the URL changes or disappears, the DOI will remain the same.

Tracking attention – having a DOI helps enable attention to your output in social media to be tracked through altmetrics.

Increasing discoverability– when a DOI is created for your output, details about your work (metadata) is entered into the database at CrossRef or DataCite. Many tools use the stored metadata to provide information about research outputs.

Meeting funder requirements – research funders may require a DOI to be created for any outputs related to the research they have funded.

Improving references to your work – some citation styles require a DOI to be used in references to online resources. Authors using such a style will be able to include the DOI in references to your work. Anyone looking at the reference list can easily use the DOI to find your work.

If you have published your output with a publisher, it is likely that the publisher has already created a DOI.  Check your output on the journal, conference or publication webpage.

If you cannot find the DOI this way, try searching for your output on CrossRef metadata search.

The Library has subscriptions to CrossRef (DOIs for publications) and DataCite (DOIs for datasets) which enables us to generate DOIs for outputs published by the university.
We can provide DOIs for publications including:

• reports, technical papers, working papers, etc.
• conference papers and presentations
• e-books
• doctoral theses (all new SHU PhD theses deposited on SHURA are given a DOI)

For us to be able to provide a DOI, your output must meet the following criteria:

• not already have a DOI
• be associated with SHU, for example published by a SHU Department or Research Centre
• will be or already has been deposited on the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) http://shura.shu.ac.uk

You must also agree to let the library know if anything changes about your output, especially if the URL changes. We can then update the DOI record.

To request a DOI, please contact the Library Research Support Team:
Email: library-research-support@shu.ac.uk
Call: (0114) 225 3852

You will need to provide us with the following details about your research output:

• author(s)
• title
• year of publication
• resource type (report, conference presentation, etc.)
• the URL that the full text of the output can be found from. This should be a ‘landing page’ where the document is described and which provides a link to the PDF or other full text version of the output. The SHURA entry for your output can be used as the landing page.

This basic information above is essential. However, if you can provide further information, we can create a more detailed record in CrossRef or DataCite. This will enhance the discoverability of your work through online searches, etc

We recommend that you do the following:

• add the DOI to the landing page for the output (this is essential)
• include the DOI on the document
• include the DOI when you deposit your document in SHURA
• use the DOI when you link to your research from social media such as Academia, LinkedIn, ResearchGate and in blog posts, CVs, etc.