Persistent Identifier (PID)

A Persistent Identifier (PID) is a long-lasting reference to a document, file, web page, or other digital object. PIDs are unlike Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) because they cannot break. They are usually provided by services that create identifiers that consistently point to the same digital object, despite its location moving over time.

The FAIR Principles suggest using PIDs to meet the objectives of open science.

Examples

• An ORCID ID
• A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) from the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF)
• A Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Further Resources

• Brown (2021) “PIDs: What Do Researchers Need to Know?” [Video]
• Canadian Research Knowledge Network (2024) “PIDs”
• CERN Scientific Information Service (2020) “What are Persistent Identifiers?” Meadows, Haak, & Brown (2019) “Persistent Identifiers: the Building Blocks of the Research Information Infrastructure”
• Goddard (2020) “Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) in Canada”
• ORCID (2024) "What are Persistent Identifiers (PIDs)?"
• Persistent Identifier (Wikipedia)