What is a DOI?

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent identifier for a published work, such as a journal article, written like 10.48550/arXiv.1810.04805. Putting https://doi.org/ in front of it always leads to the work’s current page, even if the publisher moves it. DOIs are the most reliable way to find, cite and check a paper.

Crossref and DataCite register most scholarly DOIs; their records hold the title, authors and more.

A citation whose DOI doesn’t resolve, or resolves to a different paper, is a red flag.