DOI vs PMID vs ISBN: what each identifier means
In short
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) identifies a digital work — usually a journal article — and resolves to its current location, e.g. 10.1038/nature14539. A PMID (PubMed ID) is a number identifying a record in PubMed's biomedical database, e.g. 26017442. An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) identifies a specific edition of a book, e.g. 978-0-262-03561-3. Three identifiers for three different things.
Side by side
| Identifier | Identifies | Looks like |
|---|---|---|
| DOI | A digital work — most often a journal article or dataset | 10.1038/nature14539 |
| PMID | A record in PubMed (biomedical literature) | 26017442 |
| ISBN | A specific edition of a book | 978-0-262-03561-3 |
How to use them to verify a source
An identifier is the fastest route to verification, because it points to exactly one record. Resolve a DOI through doi.org, look up a PMID in PubMed, or check an ISBN against a book catalogue. The catch: an identifier can be real but attached to the wrong citation, so confirm the record it resolves to actually matches the work you cited. CiteProve resolves DOIs, PMIDs, arXiv IDs and ISBNs and then validates every other field against the record.
Related: DOI checker · Citation glossary
Related questions
- Can one work have more than one identifier?
- Yes. A biomedical journal article commonly has both a DOI and a PMID; a book chapter can have a DOI while the book has an ISBN. They are complementary, not mutually exclusive.
- Which identifier is best for verifying a citation?
- Whichever the work has. A DOI is ideal for journal articles and resolves directly to the publisher record; a PMID is authoritative for biomedical literature; an ISBN identifies a specific book edition. CiteProve resolves all three.