Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)

DOI: What is it? [1] Unique alphanumeric string assigned to identify a piece of intellectual property online. Two components, a prefix and a suffix, separated by a forward slash. For example, /jmbi The prefix is assigned to the publisher by Crossref. The suffix is assigned by the publisher for the particular document or entity.

DOI: What is it? [2] The DOI identifies a particular piece of intellectual property: unlike a URL, it will remain unchanged. Examples, showing the variation in format: American Institute of Physics / American Chemical Society /cm960127g American Mathematical Society /S American Physical Society /PhysRevLett Blackwell Publishers /j x

How do DOIs link with the RAE? Including a DOI is compulsory for journal articles. It can also be included, if available, for other outputs such as books, chapters and conference contributions. The RAE software can be used to look up and validate DOIs for single journal articles and for all journal articles in a single submission. The software uses the Crossref database. Crossref can be searched independently from the software at (form) or (free text). You should not include either the resolver (for example, or the DOI: prefix in the RAE software.

DOI: How can I find it if it isnt on Crossref? You can link to the journal title from our Voyager catalogue You can look it up on Google Scholar You can search a database directly, for example, Science Direct or Ingenta Connect. always check the DOI using the DOI resolver at or putting at the start.

What if I still cant find a DOI? You could contact the publisher to double check whether a DOI is available. Some items will not have a DOI and so an electronic copy will need to be submitted.

Finally The subject librarians are very happy to help with trying to find DOIs and other information queries (for example, finding ISSNs and ISBNs). Contact them in person, by phone or by .subject librarians