PID Training Materials & Guides

This is a growing, curated collection of publicly available training materials, handbooks, cookbooks, documentation, and guides focused on persistent identifiers (PIDs) — both in general and for specific PID systems and providers.

The resources originate from various institutions and initiatives and are not maintained by us. As a work in progress, this overview will evolve to reflect the needs of the NFDI research communities. Suggestions are welcome.

🧭 Getting Started: Understanding PIDs

Fundamentals, significance, and an overview of the PID ecosystem. Includes beginner-friendly introductions, insights into governance, and the conceptual role of PIDs in research infrastructure.

  • What are PIDs?
  • Why are they important?
  • How is the PID ecosystem structured?

📘 PIDs 101: A Beginners' Guide to Persistent Identifiers

Whether you are new to the world of persistent identifiers or just in need of a basic PID refresher, this introductory session is for you! We’ll explain what a persistent identifier is, what they can

DOI ORCID ROR RAiD
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📘 Persistent Identifiers: The Building Blocks of the Research Information Infrastructure

Persistent identifiers (PIDs) – for people (researchers), places (their organizations) and things (their research outputs and other contributions) – are foundational elements in the overall research i

DataCite DOI ORCID Crossref DOI
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📊 The Power of PIDs: using persistent identifiers to enable connections throughout the research lifecycle

This slide deck from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of persistent identifiers (PIDs) across the resear

DataCite DOI ORCID Crossref DOI ROR
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📘 Introduction to Persistent Identifiers

As part of the DARIAH Friday Frontiers in-house webinar series, Dr. Tibor Kálman (GWDG) gives an introduction to Persistent Identifiers. Why do we need them, how do we apply them, and how do (digital)

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle ROR B2Inst
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📘 Online seminar on PIDs for instruments

The "PID Network Germany" project hosted the online seminar "PIDs for instruments" on 7 May 2024. A combination of informative presentations on the areas of application and specific examples of PIDs f

PIDInst B2Inst
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📘 Introduction to Persistent Identifiers. Bodleian iSkills

This introductory slide deck from Bodleian iSkills (University of Oxford) explains what persistent identifiers (PIDs) are, why they matter, and how they help solve problems of ambiguity in research ou

DOI ORCID ROR
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📊 What lies beneath – A closer look at the PID ecosystem

Workshop slides on the structure and governance of the PID ecosystem

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle RAiD SWHID
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📘 Persistent Identifiers

This web page by the CERN Scientific Information Service (SIS) defines persistent identifiers (PIDs) and explains their importance, the major types (for objects, people, grants, organisations) and how

DataCite DOI ORCID Crossref DOI ROR ARK handle URN
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📘 Persistente Identifikatoren

This webpage from the portal forschungsdaten.info explains the concept of persistent identifiers (PIDs) in the context of publishing and archiving research data. It defines what a PID is, gives an ove

DataCite DOI URN ORCID ROR GND
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📘 Video: Was sind PIDs?

In diesem Video "Was sind persistente Identifikatoren (PIDs)?" wird auf eine humorvolle und zugängliche Weise erklärt, was genau PIDs sind und welche Relevanz sie in der Forschungswelt haben. Als eine

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📊 ARK Training, 2023-06-06, 3-hour tutorial from 2023 IIIF Annual Conference.

A comprehensive 3-hour tutorial introducing ARK persistent identifiers, covering why ARKs are used, use cases from major institutions, metadata for object development and persistence, minting and assi

ARK
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📘 What are Persistent Identifiers and why to use them?

A short video explaining what persistent identifiers are and why they are important in the context of FAIR data principles

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📘 DANS Data Game

The game gives an impression of the research data landscape and was specially produced for the 15th anniversary of DANS. In advance of the 20th anniversary of DANS, we present here the 2024 updated ve

DOI ORCID ROR
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📘 Digital Presence Checklist

This checklist provides practical guidance for improving a researcher’s digital presence using persistent identifiers such as ORCID and DOIs. It outlines best practices for connecting publications, da

DataCite DOI ORCID
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📊 Der Weg zum PID: Praktische Einführung in DOI und ePIC

This workshop slide deck from the 7th DINI/nestor Workshop (2017) provides a practical introduction to persistent identifiers with a focus on DOIs and ePIC handles. It explains the underlying Handle S

DataCite DOI
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📄 Fabrica Handbuch – TIB Wiki

This comprehensive manual from TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology provides detailed guidance on how to use DataCite Fabrica, the metadata registration tool for DataCite DOIs.

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📘 FAIR Cookbook – Life Sciences

The FAIR Cookbook is an open, online “cookbook” of use-cases (“recipes”) for making research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR). Developed within the life sciences under ELIX

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📘 FAIR Software Checklist

This online self-assessment tool from the Netherlands eScience Center and the Australian Research Data Commons allows research software authors to evaluate how well their software aligns with the FAIR

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📘 PID4NFDI Cookbook

The “PID4NFDI Cookbook” is an open-access online training manual developed under the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) initiative. It offers a practical guide for individuals and org

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle handle ROR B2Inst ARK Crossref DOI IGSN URN GND
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🎥 The Paper and The Data: Module 5 – Persistent Identifiers – Video

Video explaining PID use in scholarly publishing

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📘 The Paper and The Data: Module 5 – Persistent Idenifiers – Slides

Module 5, Video on Persitent Identifiers

ORCID DataCite DOI Crossref DOI
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📘 Findability of Research Data and Software Through PIDs

Video presentation on using PIDs and FAIR repositories to improve findability

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📄 Getting Started – DataCite

The “Getting Started” guide from DataCite provides new members and repositories with a clear, step-by-step introduction to registering DOIs: setting up accounts, creating DOI prefixes, using the Fabri

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📄 ROR Basics

The “ROR Basics” guide explains what the ROR identifier system is, how it works, and how it supports open scholarly infrastructure. ROR provides persistent identifiers (ROR IDs) for research organisat

ROR
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🎥 ORCID Video Tutorials

The ORCID Video Tutorials page provides a library of short guidance videos aimed at helping researchers create and manage their ORCID iD (persistent identifier for researchers). It covers topics such

ORCID
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📘 PID Guide – pidwijzer.nl

The “PID Guide” is an interactive web-based tool developed by the Netherlands Digital Heritage network (NDE). It helps organisations select the most appropriate persistent identifier (PID) system by g

DataCite DOI ePIC handle handle ARK URN
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📄 EOSC Macro‑Roadmap – Persistent Identifiers (PIDs)

Collection of strategic contributions and implementation plans for PIDs within the EOSC context. Covers establishment of coordination mechanisms for PID service providers, alignment with EOSC PID poli

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle handle ROR Crossref DOI RAiD
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📘 Getting started with ARK (Archival Resource Key) Persistent Identifiers

A 30-minute introduction to ARK persistent identifiers, explaining what they are, how to use them, and their benefits

ARK
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📘 Using the SoftWare Hash Identifier (SWHID): A tutorial

This tutorial explains the persistent identifier scheme SWHID (Software Hash Identifier) developed by Software Heritage. It covers why traditional identifiers like DOIs may not always fit software art

SWHID
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📘 How to archive and reference your code

The “How to archive and reference your code” guide published by Software Heritage provides step-by-step instructions for preparing software repositories, archiving them in the Software Heritage archiv

SWHID
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📘 Kick-off session of the SWHID specification

This is a recorded talk titled “Kick-off session of the SWHID specification” (March 27 2023) by Software Heritage. It introduces the design, purpose, and upcoming roadmap of the SWHID (Software Hash I

SWHID
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📘 Working with PIDs CURL

This manual from the EUDAT training repository introduces how to work with persistent identifiers (PIDs) using command-line tools (cURL) in the context of the B2SAFE/B2STAGE services. It covers key PI

B2SAFE/B2STAGE
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📘 Working with Persistent Identifiers - Hands-on

This lecture illustrates the use of PIDs, more specifically it shows how to employ handles using the B2HANDLE library

handle ePIC handle DataCite DOI ARK
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📘 EUDAT B2SAFE-B2STAGE Training

This training module provides you with instructions on how to deploy B2SAFE and B2STAGE. It also shows you how to use these services. Moreover, the module provides hands-on training on Persistent Iden

📄 ePIC API Documentation

The ePIC Documentation site provides developer-and institution-oriented guidance on using the ePIC API to register and manage persistent identifiers (PIDs) via the ePIC service. It covers API endpoint

ePIC handle
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📄 pid4cat – PID Model for Catalysis

A FAIR PID model for research data in catalysis, based on the Handle system. PID4Cat builds upon the handle system with a custom API and provides a LinkML metadata model for PID-related metadata store

handle ePIC handle
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📄 B2INST User Guide

B2INST is a community-driven solution for global and unique identification of instruments operated within the research domain. Various (scientific) instruments, such as sensors used in environmental s

PIDInst B2Inst
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📊 SWHID specification kickoff meeting

This paper, titled “SWHID: Specifications for intrinsic software heritage identifiers”, provides a formal specification of the SWHID scheme, developed by Software Heritage Foundation. It details synta

SWHID
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📘 FAIR Implementation Workshop -Meet the SoftWare Hash Identifier: Do one thing and do it well

The session highlighted that software identification was essential for ensuring the long-term traceability of scholarly outputs. However, as often happened with software, the process was not as straig

SWHID
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📊 Online Training Workshop on Research Data Management in (Bio-)Medicine

This slide deck from the ZB MED / Repository for Life Sciences (FRL) workshop introduces the fundamentals of persistent identifiers (PIDs) in a research-data context. It contains one dedicated chapter

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📄 SWHID Specification

The SWHID Specification provides a formal standard for software-heritage identifiers, defining both “core identifiers” and “qualified identifiers” for software artifacts preserved by the Software Heri

SWHID
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📄 Software Heritage documentation

The Documentation site for Software Heritage (docs.softwareheritage.org) offers a comprehensive developer- and user-oriented guide to their universal archive of source code. It covers sections such as

SWHID
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📘 Developing Identifiers for Heritage Collections

This resource describes the different aspects of developing persistent identifiers (PIDs) in the context of Heritage Collections. Following consultation through May 2021, the resource is now available

DataCite DOI ORCID Crossref DOI ROR
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📘 ELIXIR TeSS – Catalogue of Training Materials for the Life Sciences

The TeSS (Training eSupport System) portal of ELIXIR aggregates a comprehensive catalogue of training materials in the life sciences - including tutorials, decks, videos, and hand-on modules. The “Mat

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📘 DataCite Training (Collection)

The DataCite Training portal provides a comprehensive set of training modules designed for DataCite Members, Consortium Organisations and Repositories. It covers key services such as metadata, the Fab

DataCite DOI RAiD IGSN
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📘 PID4NFDI Zotero Group Library

The PID4NFDI Zotero Group Library is an openly accessible, curated collection of literature related to Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) in research and research data management. It brings together key pa

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle handle ROR SWHID B2Inst ARK Crossref DOI RAiD IGSN URN GND B2SAFE/B2STAGE
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📘 ARDC Resource Hub

Comprehensive collection of training materials, documentation, datasets, tools and resources for research data management and PID systems. Includes training courses like "23 (Research Data) Things", "

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📘 The PID Forum

A global information and discussion platform for persistent identifiers (PIDs), which brings together the various communities working with PIDs in the research world. Includes Knowledge Hub, User Stor

DataCite DOI ORCID PIDInst ePIC handle handle ROR B2Inst ARK Crossref DOI RAiD
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📊 NFDI4Ing Training Platform

German-language platform for RDM training materials specifically tailored for engineering sciences. Provides self-paced online courses, interactive elements (H5P quizzes, assignments), and engineering

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📘 DataCite Best Practice Guide

The DataCite Best Practice Guide provides a comprehensive, practical handbook for implementing the official DataCite Metadata Schema (v4.6). It is designed primarily as support documentation for resea

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