PIDfest 26

Research integrity is a cornerstone of credible and trustworthy scholarly communication. However, the increasing pressure to publish, competition for funding, and evaluation structure that emphasize publication system have contributed to the emergence of questionable research practices (QRPs). These practices may include honorary or ghost authorship, incomplete reporting of data, inadequate citation of sources, and difficulties in verifying research contributions. While such practices do not automatically create scientific misconduct, they can weaken the transparency, reliability, and credibility of research.

In recent years, digital infrastructures supporting scholarly communication have begun to address these challenges through the implementation of PIDs. Persistent identifiers are globally unique and long-lasting digital references that enable reliable identification of key research entities, including researchers, publications, datasets, grants, and institutions. By connecting these objects across various platforms and databases, PIDs help create a transparent and traceable scholarly record.

One of the most widely adopted researcher identifier systems is ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). ORCID provides researchers with a unique digital identifier that differentiates them from others with similar names and links their scholarly outputs across different systems. By ensuring clear attribution of research contributions, ORCID helps address issues such as author uncertainty and misattribution, which are frequently linked with questionable authorship practices.

Similarly, publication identifiers managed by Crossref provide Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) that allow scholarly articles, conference papers, and other research outputs to be persistently identified and cited. These identifiers enable accurate citation tracking and help prevent problems such as broken links or lost references in digital environments. In addition, dataset identifiers provided by DataCite allow research data to be assigned DOIs, making datasets easier to locate, verify, and reuse. The ability to link datasets directly with publications and researchers encourage transparency in research methods and supports the reproducibility of scientific findings.

The integration of these PID systems contributes to the development of interconnected research information infrastructures. By linking researchers, publications, datasets, and institutions through PIDs, scholarly communication becomes more transparent and accountable. This interconnectedness allows publishers, funding agencies, and research institutions to track research outputs more effectively and verify the relationships between research contributions.

Moreover, the use of PIDs also aligns with broader efforts to endorse open science and accountable research practices. In this context, the role of PIDs in enabling the FAIR data principles, which aim to ensure that research outputs are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

Thus, the adoption of PID structures can provide an effective mechanism for establishment research governance and improving global visibility of locally produced scholarship. Many institutions in developing countries face challenges related to disjointed research information systems and limited monitoring of research outputs. Integrating PIDs into institutional repositories and national research databases can help create a more reliable and transparent research ecosystem.

Therefore, PIDs are not only technical tools but also important instruments for promoting ethical research practices. By improving the traceability of scholarly outputs and strengthening the connections between researchers and their work, PIDs contribute to a more trustworthy and accountable scholarly communication system.