Metadata Schema for the Persistent Identification of Instruments

Instruments play an essential role in creating research data but they are often only identified in scientific literature using free text.  Through the use of globally unique, persistent identifiers (PIDs) such as the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), it is now common practice to establish traceable links between scientific literature and the data that generated it.  Such cross-linking has received considerable attention in the community in recent years and has been generalized to other entities, including people, organizations, funders, etc.  Given the importance of instruments and associated metadata to the assessment of data quality and data reuse, globally unique, persistent and resolvable identification of instruments is also crucial.  The Research Data Alliance Persistent Identification of Instruments Working Group (PIDINST WG) developed and demonstrated a solution for publishing persistent identifiers for instruments at established PID providers.  This solution comprises a metadata schema for the persistent identification of instruments (PIDINST Schema).