Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A research vessel CTD profiler with a DataCite DOI registered as a PIDINST.
- Is an instance
A synchrotron beamline assigned a Handle-based PIDINST and cited in every dataset produced on that beamline.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
An internal asset tag sticker on the side of a microscope is not a PIDINST.
- Not an instance
A manufacturer's serial number alone is not a PIDINST unless registered with a PID provider.
- Not an instance
An IGSN (sample identifier) is not a PIDINST — IGSN identifies a physical sample or specimen, PIDINST identifies the instrument that measured or produced it.
Editorial commentary
PIDINST emerged from the Research Data Alliance Persistent Identification of Instruments Working Group (2017-2019). The schema covers instrument identifier, owner, manufacturer, model, instrument type, and related identifiers (e.g. the lab’s ROR ID, ORCID of the responsible scientist). Multiple registration agencies (DataCite, ePIC) can mint PIDINST-compliant identifiers. Use cases include attribution of instrument time to facility funding, linking measurements to calibration history, and citing instruments in datasets.
What the schema records
A PIDINST record typically carries: a persistent identifier and landing page for the instrument itself; the instrument’s name, description, and type (drawn from a controlled instrument-type vocabulary where available); manufacturer and model; owner(s) and, separately, manager(s) responsible for day-to-day operation, each ideally identified by ROR (for organisations) or ORCID (for individuals); measured variable(s); and dates covering the instrument’s operational lifetime. Related-identifier fields let a PIDINST record link outward to the datasets it produced and inward to any predecessor/successor instrument (e.g. after a major hardware upgrade).
How it differs from an IGSN
PIDINST and IGSN are frequently used together but identify different things in a research workflow: PIDINST identifies the instrument that took a measurement, while an IGSN identifies a physical sample or specimen that instrument may have measured. A single dataset can reasonably cite both — the sample it was derived from (IGSN) and the instrument that produced the measurement (PIDINST) — as two separate, complementary provenance links rather than interchangeable identifiers.
References
- Stocker M. et al., ‘Persistent Identification of Instruments’, Data Science Journal 19(18), 2020.
- RDA PIDINST WG, ‘Final recommendations on persistent identification of instruments’ (rd-alliance.org).
Also known as
Instrument PID · Persistent identifier for instruments
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="PIDINST"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
"name": "PIDINST",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
"description": "A persistent identifier for a research instrument, minted under a DataCite DOI or Handle, conforming to the PIDINST metadata schema developed by an RDA Working Group, that enables citation of and provenance back to the instrument that produced data.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/persistent-identifiers#set",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/pidinst",
"sameAs": [
"Instrument PID",
"Persistent identifier for instruments"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
},
"author": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#editorial-team"
},
"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:10:01",
"dateModified": "2026-08-22T15:38:25",
"inLanguage": "en-GB",
"isAccessibleForFree": true
}
