Formatting APS Journal Articles :: Title Page
The digital object identifier (DOI) number is a unique identification code that allows an article to be easily tracked by many different archival and research programs on the Internet. Every article that is accepted for publication in an APS journal is assigned a DOI number. It is the Copy Editor's responsibility to make sure that this number is correct.
Here is a sample DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00101.2003. It can be broken down into three distinct parts. The first six digits are the publisher's code. The publisher's code for APS is 10.1152 and is the same for all APS journals. The publisher's code is always followed by a forward slash. The second part of the DOI is a string of alphabetic characters denoting the journal abbreviation. The journal abbreviation is determined by which journal the article was published in. The journal abbreviation is always followed by a period. The last nine digits of the DOI is the article number.
In almost all cases, this number is generated by taking the manuscript number assigned by the peer review department and appending the year of submission. However, it is very important to remember that once a DOI number is assigned, it is not "connected" to the manuscript number or year of submission in any way. If an article's manuscript number or year of submission were to be altered for some reason after the DOI is assigned, or if the DOI is generated using the wrong manuscript number or year of submission in APSCentral, the DOI would not be changed to reflect the "correct" data; it is now its own number and cannot be changed.
Once assigned, a DOI number can never be changed, even if it does not reflect the proper format for generating DOIs.
Always double check an article's DOI number against its listing in Articles in PresS (AiPS), if possible. If you notice a discrepancy between the DOI given in the manuscript and the DOI listed in AiPS or a discrepancy between the last part of the DOI and the manuscript number or year of submission, alert your journal supervisor. The DOI listed in AiPS is the accurate one, because it is now linked to that article specifically (no matter what the "correctly formed" DOI "should" be).
Journal supervisors receive a list of DOI numbers at the close of an issue from Cadmus. These should be checked against the DOI numbers listed on the postscripted articles and in AiPS. The AiPS number is the accurate one, and all discrepancies should be corrected to reflect the AiPS number.
The DOI number is denoted by the Ğdoiğ code at copyediting stage. This code is automatically generated when you fill out the header information at the beginning of copy editing, but always double check to make sure it has been formed correctly.