The PID Selection Tool is designed for individuals or groups – such as repository and infrastructure managers – who plan to integrate Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) into an existing or new research service, repository, or tool. It supports the decision-making process by helping you explore which PID system best fits your specific use case and integration goals.
While the tool is generally applicable beyond national contexts, its primary target audience is the German research landscape and the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). This focus influences both the formulation of the statements and the underlying expert evaluations, which reflect requirements, governance structures, and practical considerations relevant to PID adoption in Germany and within NFDI contexts.
The tool guides you through 14 short statements divided into four thematic sections: Persistence and Costs, Purpose, Metadata & Interoperability, and Technical Setup and Training. Each statement reflects a typical requirement or consideration when selecting PID services – for example, “It is important for us that the PID service demonstrates a strong, long-term commitment to persistence.”
For each statement, you can indicate whether you don’t need that, find that somewhat important, important, or very important. If a statement does not apply or you don’t know, you may skip it. Your responses remain visible as you progress through the sections, and you can also go back to adjust them. The process takes just a few minutes.
After completing the statements, the tool compares your selections with expert evaluations prepared for several PID services. Based on these comparisons, you will receive a ranking and visual overview showing how well each PID service aligns with your preferences.
Currently, the tool covers four object-related PID services – DataCite DOI, ePIC Handles (GWDG), URN:NBN, and ARK – with evaluations developed by PID4NFDI in cooperation with experts from the field.
Note: Alongside these object-related PID services, we recommend also integrating complementary PID systems such as ORCID for persons and ROR for institutions.
You can skip questions, but the results are getting better, the more questions are answered.
If you are generally interested in PIDs or want to learn more about the broader PID ecosystem – including identifiers such as ORCID, ROR, or Wikidata – we recommend our PID4NFDI Cookbook, which provides background knowledge and further training materials.
This does not affect your answers; it only fine-tunes one rule for DataCite.