Persistent identifiers – building trust and supporting openness in digital scholarship

The inevitable ambiguities arising from using names can hamper our ability to reliably and transparently discover, connect, and access resources. If we’re to fully realise the potential of open, digital scholarship then automatic, resolvable connections between researchers, institutions, research outputs and funders are essential. ORCID’s Josh Brown and Alice Meadows outline how persistent identifiers are able to make these connections, allowing for a seamless, unambiguous, and – crucially – trustworthy exchange of information between systems. Adoption of persistent identifiers is increasing all the time and should boost the openness of research and facilitate collaborations.