Unlock your data

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Identifiers are simply labels used to refer to an object being discussed or exchanged, such as products, companies or people. The foundation of the web is formed by connections that hold pieces of information together. Identifiers are the anchors that facilitate those links.

This white paper is a joint effort between Thomson Reuters and the Open Data Institute. It is written as a guide to identifier schemes: why identity can be difficult to manage; why it is important for open data; what challenges there are today and recommendations for the community to address these in the future. Illustrative examples of identifier schemes are used to explain these points.

The recommendations are based on specific issues found to occur across different datasets, and should be relevant for anyone using, publishing or handling open data, closed data and their own proprietary data sets.

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