The DataCite Metadata Store includes metadata for over 100 million DOIs, enabling discovery and citation for a wide range of research outputs and resources. The DataCite Metadata Schema is designed to be easy to work with and flexible, accommodating a range of resource types. DataCite regularly updates the DataCite Metadata Schema to better represent community use cases and respond to community feedback, supporting the creation and reuse of high-quality metadata.
Today, we’re releasing DataCite Metadata Schema 4.7, which expands the resourceTypeGeneral, relatedIdentifierType, and relationType controlled lists in response to community feedback. We also added a new sub-property relationTypeInformation to RelatedIdentifier and RelatedItem, enabling more detailed specification and understanding of the relationships between research outputs and resources. Finally, we’ve added documentation for the existing “xml:lang” attributes (“lang” in JSON) that are used to specify the language of a property. Everything is described in the Version Update notes in the documentation, available through the web and in PDF format.
Supporting DOIs for Presentations and Posters
As suggested by community members, we’ve added new types for Presentations and Posters to the resourceTypeGeneral controlled vocabulary. These additions will make it possible to consistently distinguish these important output types that are integral parts of the research life cycle, helping harvesters to pick up presentations and posters and boosting discoverability and impact.
Connecting DOIs to RAiDs and SWHIDs
Schema 4.7 adds support for RAiDs (Research Activity Identifiers) and SWHIDs (SoftWare Hash Identifiers) to the relatedIdentifierType vocabulary:
- The RAiD is a persistent identifier (PID) and global registry dedicated to research projects.
- SWHIDs are persistent, intrinsic identifiers for software source code artifacts such as source code files, source trees, commits, and other objects typically found in version control systems.
These additions enable connections between DataCite DOIs and projects and software code artifacts with RAiDs and SWHIDs through the RelatedIdentifier property.
Increasing relationType Flexibility
Most DataCite Metadata Schema controlled lists already included an “Other” term option, but relationType was a notable exception. Used with RelatedIdentifier and RelatedItem, the relationType indicates the nature of the relationship between the object to which the DOI is assigned (A) and another related object (B). In Schema 4.7, we have added a relationType “Other” as a fallback option when none of the other options fit.
To include more detail about the relationship when “Other” is selected, you can use the new sub-property relationTypeInformation. This attribute has been added to the RelatedIdentifier and RelatedItem properties and can be used with any relationType, but is especially critical with “Other”. The additional context provided in relationTypeInformation will also help us identify current gaps and ambiguities with the relationType controlled vocabulary, informing future updates to vocabulary terms.
Get Started With Schema 4.7
Our latest Schema 4.7 is a minor version that is backward compatible. To support you in updating to the latest schema version, DataCite provides resources, documentation, and support:
- On the Metadata Schema website, the DataCite Metadata Schema 4.7 page includes links to the documentation alongside new example records.
- Our REST API Reference and DataCite Fabrica have been updated with the latest changes.
The latest metadata schema is supported both for new DOI registrations and for updating metadata for existing DOIs.
If you have any questions about the Schema 4.7 updates, please get in touch with us at support@datacite.org. We always welcome your feedback through DataCite Suggestions—your ideas play an important role in helping us to continuously improve the DataCite Metadata Schema.
Kelly Stathis
Cody Ross
