The Resource Identification Initiative: a cultural shift in publishing

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Research
• Scientific Publishing
• Data Management

Background:

• Research reproducibility is critical but hindered by poor identification of experimental resources.
• Current reporting practices lack sufficient detail for resource traceability.
• Lack of unique identifiers complicates understanding how resources are used across studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the Resource Identification Initiative (RRID) pilot project.
• To improve reporting standards for research resources in scientific methods sections.
• To enhance the identifiability and reproducibility of scientific research.

Main Methods:

• Engaged biomedical journal editors, scientists, and funding officials.
• Piloted the use of Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) for antibodies, model organisms, and tools.
• Developed a central web portal for easy access to RRIDs.

Main Results:

• Over 300 papers published with RRIDs since February 2014.
• Journal participation expanded from 25 to over 40 publishers.
• Significant improvement in resource identifiability across all three resource types.

Conclusions:

• Authors can effectively identify and report research resources using RRIDs.
• The RRID initiative demonstrates a substantial positive impact on research resource identifiability.
• The project supports enhanced scientific reproducibility through standardized resource identification.