Since 2008, OSTI has been helping DOE researchers and the public find DOE scientific research data collections through the DOE Data Explorer (DDE).  In 2011, OSTI began offering a service enabling DOE researchers to obtain digital object identifiers (DOIs) for individual datasets, and the DDE database began including those individual items as well.  Through the DOE Data ID Service, OSTI assigns DOIs to datasets submitted by DOE and its contractor and grantee researchers and registers the DOIs with DataCite to aid in citation, discovery, retrieval, and reuse.  OSTI assigns and registers DOIs for datasets for DOE researchers as a free service to advance data discoverability and citation.

On April 14, following the 2016 DOE STIP Working Meeting, OSTI held the first-ever one-day DOE Data ID Service workshop at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory conference center.  OSTI convened the workshop to gain a better understanding of the data needs of researchers and thereby help make the DOE Data ID Service and DOE Data Explorer more useful and integrated to meet those needs, while fulfilling DOE's public access and dissemination mandates.  Attendees included current DOE Data ID Service clients, interested and potential clients, DOE STIP community members, and program managers with data-focused oversight.

The workshop opened with an OSTI presentation outlining the basic workflow of the DOE Data ID Service and highlighting how its data team is committed to "customer focused development," working with each client to explain client customization capabilities and the importance of quality landing pages and quality metadata.  OSTI also explained how DOIs are "minted" through its membership with DataCite, demonstrated the DOE Data Explorer, and provided an overview of the DOE Policy for Digital Research Data Management.

Current and potential DOE Data ID Service clients from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Materials Project, the DOE Office of Thermal Technologies' Geothermal Data Repository, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Active Data Biology project, and the DOE Office of Science's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program presented their data research and explained their workflows.  DataCite Director Patricia Cruse presented new enhancements and updates to the data citation service.

The workshop then featured an open discussion between OSTI and attendees on various topics and issues raised throughout the day - and closed with attendees expressing the desire that OSTI host additional workshops on a regular basis so that both current and potential data clients have the opportunity to meet and discuss issues, solutions, and future projects. 

OSTI is intent on learning more about what DOE researchers do, how they do it, and the challenges they face.  OSTI will continue to collaborate with our current and potential data clients and stands prepared to work with DOE researchers in other collaborations and domains in support of their data research and management needs.  To make your DOE-funded research data more discoverable by registering it for a DOI or to learn more about the DOE Data Explorer or the DOE Data ID Service, please contact us at ddecomments@osti.gov.