What are DOIs, and why are they important?
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a string of numbers, letters and symbols used to permanently identify an article or document, link to it on the web, and help readers easily locate documents from your citation.
How do I get DOIs for my V.O.L. Journal articles?
As a member of CrossRef, UT Libraries can mint DOIs for your journal. If you are a journal editor ready to mint issues for a new issue, please see the “Publishing a New Issue” page. To get DOIs for your new journal, email trace@utk.edu.
Below are details about how and where to display DOIs once you have them.
How do I display DOIs?
CrossRef best practices indicate that DOIs should...
- always be displayed as a full URL link, in this form: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
- not be preceded by doi: or DOI:
- not use dx in the domain name part of DOI links
- include HTTPS (rather than HTTP)
Where do I display DOIs?
UT libraries is a member of CrossRef, which recommends that DOIs always be displayed in three places:
- On the TRACE article landing page (see image below). Once you receive DOIs from V.O.L. Journals, edit this page by clicking Manage Submissions and then Revise Submission. The resulting form has a field to enter a DOI for that article.
- With the article citation (this automatically populates when you enter DOI information in the Revise Submission form, so no extra steps are required).
- On the article PDF. Copy editors should add the DOI on the first page, or another significant page(s), of the article. It is common to list the DOI below the author information. Alternatively, the V.O.L. Journal shown below utilizes a standard heading on page 1 of its articles and includes the DOI there.
Displaying DOIs in these three areas is of utmost importance to following CrossRef best practices.
Should journal authors be required to include DOIs on Works Cited?
Yes! CrossRef expects members to include DOIs with every entry on a Works Cited page. As an editor following best practices in academic publishing, you should include this requirement in the Author Guidelines of your journal site. For examples of what DOIs could look like in citations, visit this CrossRef guide.
Where can I go to learn more about displaying journal DOIs?
For more information, see this CrossRef Guide on DOI Display Guidelines.