Validating CITATION.cff: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ensuring your research software gets the credit it deserves is crucial, and a well-formatted CITATION.cff file is a key part of that process. This guide walks you through the steps to validate your CITATION.cff file, addressing common issues and ensuring it meets the necessary standards for services like Zenodo and the Research Software Directory.

Understanding the Importance of CITATION.cff

The CITATION.cff file, or Citation File Format, is a human- and machine-readable file that provides citation information for your software project. Including this file in your repository allows authors to receive proper credit for their work. Think of it as a standardized way to tell the world how to cite your software, ensuring that your contributions are recognized and tracked.

Why is this important? Proper citation is the backbone of academic and research integrity. It allows others to build upon your work, provides evidence of your impact, and helps secure funding and recognition. A valid CITATION.cff file ensures that your software is cited correctly, increasing its visibility and impact within the research community. It's about giving credit where it's due and contributing to the collective knowledge base in a transparent and verifiable way.

This file acts as a beacon, guiding researchers and developers on how to properly acknowledge your software in their publications and projects. By providing clear and structured citation information, you facilitate the tracking of your software's usage and impact, which can be instrumental in securing funding, collaborations, and professional recognition. In essence, a well-crafted CITATION.cff file is not just a formality; it's a crucial tool for ensuring your software's legacy and contribution to the research landscape.

Initial Checks and Common Errors

Often, the first hurdle in validating your CITATION.cff file is ensuring it adheres to the required format and structure. The cffconvert GitHub Action is a valuable tool for this, but its error messages can sometimes be cryptic. Let's break down the common issues and how to address them:

Name Fields: given-name, family-name, name-particle, and name-suffix

One of the most frequent issues arises from the formatting of names. The CITATION.cff schema specifies distinct keys for different parts of a name: given-name for the first name, family-name for the last name, name-particle for particles like "von" or "van", and name-suffix for suffixes like "Sr." or "III".

How to fix it: Carefully review the names of all authors and ensure they are correctly split across these fields. If a family name includes a particle, use the name-particle key. Similarly, use the name-suffix key for any suffixes. This meticulous attention to detail is crucial for accurate citation and recognition.

For example, if an author's name is "Dr. Marie von Weber," you would structure the entry in your CITATION.cff file as follows:

given-name: Marie
family-name: Weber
name-particle: von
name-suffix: Dr.

This precise formatting ensures that the author's name is displayed correctly in citations and bibliographic databases, preventing misattribution and ensuring proper credit for their work.

ORCID iD

An ORCID iD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a unique identifier for researchers, and including it in your CITATION.cff file is highly recommended. It helps disambiguate researchers with similar names and ensures accurate attribution of their work.

How to fix it: Ensure the orcid key contains a valid ORCID iD. If you or your co-authors don't have an ORCID iD, you can obtain one for free at https://orcid.org/. The ORCID iD should be in the format https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000.

By including ORCID iDs in your CITATION.cff file, you contribute to a more transparent and interconnected research ecosystem. ORCID iDs facilitate the tracking of research outputs and ensure that researchers receive credit for their contributions across various platforms and databases. This not only benefits individual researchers but also enhances the overall integrity and discoverability of scholarly work.

Adding Authors

Software projects are often collaborative efforts, and it's essential to acknowledge all contributors. Your CITATION.cff file should include all authors who have made significant contributions to the project.

How to fix it: Review your project's contributors and add them to the CITATION.cff file. Ensure that each author entry includes their given-name, family-name, and, if applicable, name-particle, name-suffix, and orcid.

Acknowledging all contributors in your CITATION.cff file promotes inclusivity and recognizes the diverse expertise that goes into software development. This not only fosters a sense of shared ownership and responsibility but also encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing within the research community. By giving credit to all who deserve it, you contribute to a more equitable and collaborative research environment.

Date Released

The date-released key should be in the YYYY-MM-DD format. This date represents the date when the software was released or the version being cited was published.

How to fix it: Ensure the date-released value adheres to the YYYY-MM-DD format. For example, January 15, 2023, should be represented as 2023-01-15.

Using the correct date format is crucial for accurate record-keeping and citation management. It allows others to understand the timeline of your software's development and ensures that citations accurately reflect the version being used. This attention to detail enhances the credibility and reliability of your software's citation information.

DOI (Digital Object Identifier)

A DOI is a persistent identifier that provides a stable link to your software. It's highly recommended to include a DOI in your CITATION.cff file.

How to fix it: Update the doi key with the concept DOI for your repository. A concept DOI represents the overall project, while a version-specific DOI points to a specific release. You can obtain a DOI from services like Zenodo. If your project doesn't have a DOI yet, use the string 10.0000/FIXME as a placeholder to pass validation until you obtain one.

Including a DOI in your CITATION.cff file significantly enhances the discoverability and accessibility of your software. DOIs provide persistent links that ensure your software can be found and cited even if its location changes. This is crucial for long-term preservation and ensures that your software remains a valuable resource for the research community.

Keywords

The keywords array should accurately describe your project. These keywords help others find your software and understand its purpose.

How to fix it: Review the keywords in your CITATION.cff file and ensure they accurately reflect your project's scope and functionality. Use specific and relevant keywords that researchers are likely to use when searching for software in your domain.

Choosing appropriate keywords is essential for maximizing the visibility of your software. Keywords act as signposts, guiding researchers to your project when they are searching for solutions in your area of expertise. By carefully selecting keywords that accurately represent your software's capabilities, you increase its chances of being discovered and used by others.

Validating with cffconvert GitHub Action

The cffconvert GitHub Action is an invaluable tool for automatically checking your CITATION.cff file. It performs several key validations:

1. File Existence: Checks if your repository includes a CITATION.cff file.
2. YAML Validity: Verifies that your CITATION.cff file is valid YAML. You can also use online YAML linters like http://www.yamllint.com/ to check for YAML syntax errors.
3. Schema Adherence: Ensures your CITATION.cff file adheres to the Citation File Format schema, as specified by the cff-version key in the file.

By leveraging the cffconvert GitHub Action, you can automate the validation process and catch potential issues early on. This helps ensure that your CITATION.cff file is always up-to-date and meets the required standards.

Ensuring Up-to-Date Citation Data

To ensure services like Zenodo and the Research Software Directory can keep your citation data up to date, regularly review and update your CITATION.cff file. This includes updating author information, adding new keywords, and ensuring the date-released and doi are current.

By maintaining an up-to-date CITATION.cff file, you facilitate the accurate tracking and attribution of your software, contributing to a more transparent and reliable research ecosystem. This also ensures that your software receives the recognition it deserves and remains a valuable resource for the research community.

Conclusion

Validating your CITATION.cff file is a crucial step in ensuring your research software receives proper credit. By following these steps and addressing common errors, you can create a valid and informative CITATION.cff file that accurately represents your project and its contributors. Remember, a well-formatted CITATION.cff file is not just a formality; it's a key component of research integrity and software sustainability.

For more information on the Citation File Format and best practices, visit the official Citation File Format website.