1. Annotating research resources
with RRID’s
Resource Identification Initiative

2. Resource Identification Initiative: New type of
resource citation
• Have authors supply appropriate
identifiers for key resources used
within a study such that they are:
– Machine processible (i.e., unique
identifier that resolves to a single
resource)
– Outside of the paywall
– Uniform across journals and publishers
• Pilot project
– Antibodies
– Software/databases
– Genetically modified animals
https://www.force11.org/group/resource-identification-initiative

3. Why RRID’s?
• Researchers do not provide enough
information to conclusively identify which
resource was used to produce a result in a
paper (Vasilevsky et al., 2013)
• Our current system of citing resources makes
it difficult to ask a very basic question: “What
other studies used this resource”?

4. With RRID’s, that question is easy
Bandrowski A, Brush M, Grethe JS et al. 2015 [v1; ref status: awaiting peer review,
http://f1000r.es/5fj] F1000Research 2015, 4:134 (doi: 10.12688/f1000research.6555.1)

5. But...what about the retrospective
literature?
Can we assign RRID’s to resources from
the descriptions the authors provide?

6. Annotation Task
• Find antibodies, genetically modified animals and software
tools/databases in the materials and methods of a scientific article
• Look up the RRID in the Resource Identification Portal
• Highlight the first mention of the resource and provide the RRID
• Tag the annotation with RRID
• View Example

7. How to find an RRID
Bandrowski A, Brush M, Grethe JS et al. 2015 [v1; ref status: awaiting peer review,
http://f1000r.es/5fj] F1000Research 2015, 4:134 (doi: 10.12688/f1000research.6555.1)
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8. Tips
• Only annotate actual usage of a resource, not just a
mention in the introduction or discussion
• Only annotate with an RRID if you can be sure it is the
correct resource, e.g., it matches a vendor and catalog
number
– But you can note where there isn’t enough information available