Handle / persistent URI
Also called: Handle System, hdl, persistent identifier
A persistent identifier issued by a repository, of which the DOI is the best-known implementation.
The Handle System is the general infrastructure for persistent identifiers; a DOI is a Handle with extra governance and metadata requirements layered on. Institutional repositories and dataset archives often issue plain handles, written like hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3327874.
Treat a handle exactly as you would a DOI in a reference: give the resolvable https form. It is a much better citation target than the repository's browse URL, which will change the next time the repository is upgraded.
See also
DOI (Digital Object Identifier)A permanent identifier for a document — usually a journal article — that resolves to its current location no matter how many times the publisher moves it.PermalinkA URL the publisher undertakes to keep working, as opposed to a session, search, or tracking URL that will rot.Institutional repositoryA university's own archive of the research its members produce, holding theses, accepted manuscripts, datasets, and reports.