In the field of scholarly publishing, proper metadata associated with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) is essential. Recently, our team encountered two cases involving incorrect metadata for the books registered by same publisher, Informa UK Limited. Both issues were reported by our very helpful metadata user, Ben. Let us take a closer look at these instances and the steps taken to rectify them.
In April, Ben flagged an issue with the DOI metadata for 10.4324/9780429030499. Specifically, the <publisher_place> element contained the incorrect value “Fourth edition,” which does not belong there. This discrepancy hindered accurate citation matching. The correct information should have been placed in the <edition_number> element.
Upon contacting Joanna, the representative of Informa UK Limited, the issue was promptly resolved. The value was corrected to “New York” instead of “Fourth edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2020.” This quick correction ensured that researchers and readers could cite the work accurately.
In another instance, Ben reported a problematic DOI: 10.4324/9781315456539. Again, the <publisher_place> element was incorrectly listed “Eighth edition. | New York: Routledge, 2018” instead of “London.” Additionally, the element had an erroneous value of “2018” instead of the correct “2017.”
Again, I contacted Joanna, and the issue was promptly addressed. The metadata was corrected to reflect the accurate publisher place (“New York”) and publication year (“2017”).
Why Accurate Metadata Matters
These cases serve as a reminder that oversights can happen to anyone. However, the impact of such errors can be significant:
- Citation Accuracy: Accurate metadata enables researchers, students, and academics to properly cite intellectual publications. Incorrect information can cause misunderstanding, misattribution, and poor research practices.
- Discoverability: Accurate metadata improves discoverability. Researchers rely on DOIs to locate relevant articles, and inaccurate metadata can impede their search.
- Crossref and the Scholarly Ecosystem: Our system relies on precise information to sustain a stable scientific ecosystem. Errors can disrupt strong links between research outputs, citations, and funding data.
In conclusion, while mistakes can occur, members must remain vigilant in managing DOI metadata. Promptly correcting metadata records ensures a robust scholarly infrastructure for all users, members and stakeholders.