Preserve citations as structured metadata from manuscript intake through publication—not just as formatted text in a reference list. Keep the full bibliographic details, identifier values and types, source provenance, and a working reader-facing link. For datasets and software, include a normal reference and, when useful, a separate structured relationship to the research output.
Why citations need more than a formatted reference list
A citation serves two purposes: it tells readers what a source is, and it carries information that publishing systems can process, match, expose, and reuse. A rendered reference can remain readable while losing fields needed for downstream metadata. Crossref recommends supplying full references or complete marked-up reference metadata, and makes submitted references available through its APIs. Crossref REST API documentation
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Keep each citation as a structured reference record for as long as possible. Retain available bibliographic details rather than flattening them into a single display string early in the workflow. If a DOI is unavailable, Crossref’s guidance calls for a full reference or complete marked-up metadata, which can still support identification and matching. Crossref guidance on registering and maintaining records
Preserve citations to datasets and software
When an article cites a dataset or software, record it in the article’s ordinary references. Crossref also supports a structured relationship between the article and the related research output. These are independent methods and can be used individually or together: the reference provides conventional bibliographic context, while relationship metadata makes the connection explicit in the publication record. Crossref relationship metadata guidance
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Keep identifier values and types together
Store an identifier with its type, rather than retaining an unexplained identifier string. Crossref’s data and software deposit guidance supports identifier types and relationship information; a DOI is useful when available, but it is not the only possible persistent identifier. Preserve the exact value and type as the citation moves between systems. Crossref data and software relationship guidance
Use both a citation and a relationship when both jobs matter
A bibliographic reference and an explicit article-to-output relationship are not substitutes in every workflow. Use a reference to give the output a place in the bibliography; add relationship metadata when downstream systems need a distinct, machine-readable assertion connecting the article to that output. Crossref describes the approaches as usable separately or in combination. Crossref relationship metadata guidance
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Maintain provenance and a usable link for readers
Where a source has an original publisher, citation provenance should remain traceable to it. The W3C Data on the Web Best Practices says, “The chain of provenance for data on the Web will be traceable back to its original publisher.” It also recommends presenting a source citation with bibliographic text and a working link. Preserve that attribution and link in the public-facing article, not only in internal metadata. W3C Data on the Web Best Practices
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteCheck citation data at every publishing handoff
Publishing systems differ, and general guidance does not define how every CMS, XML format, production vendor, or repository maps citation fields. Treat each handoff as a point to verify rather than assuming a field survives unchanged. Compare the citation record at the source with what reaches the next system and the published output.
- Manuscript intake: Confirm that incoming references are captured as structured records, with all available bibliographic fields and identifiers retained.
- Editorial conversion: Check that conversion or editing has not dropped fields, changed identifier values, or detached identifiers from their types.
- Typesetting and rendering: Verify both that references display legibly and that underlying citation data remains available where the workflow needs it.
- Metadata deposit: Check that full references, data or software identifiers, identifier types, and any intended article-to-output relationships are present in the deposited record.
- Public output and APIs: Confirm that readers can follow the source link and that downstream interfaces expose the citation information expected from the published record.
These checks are practical implementation guidance derived from Crossref’s metadata requirements and W3C provenance recommendations; they are not a prescribed validation checklist for a particular platform. Crossref schema and deposit guidance can change, so verify current requirements and field mappings against the documentation for the systems you use.
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What a good preservation strategy keeps intact
- Bibliographic completeness: Preserve the available reference details as structured data, not only as display text.
- Identifier integrity: Retain each identifier’s value and type; use a DOI or another persistent identifier when available.
- Explicit output links: For cited datasets and software, use a reference and add a structured relationship where the article-to-output connection needs to be machine-readable.
- Traceable provenance: Keep attribution connected to the original source and provide readers a working link.
- Boundary checks: Compare citation data before and after each conversion, deposit, and publication handoff.
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