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OpenAlex

OpenAlex is a free, open, and comprehensive index of scholarly papers, authors, institutions, and more.

Actions8

  • Authors Actions
  • Funders Actions
  • Institutions Actions
  • Keywords Actions
  • Publishers Actions
  • Sources Actions
  • Topics Actions
  • Works Actions

Authors → Get

AI-generated

Overview

This node integrates with the OpenAlex API, a free and comprehensive index of scholarly papers, authors, institutions, and related academic resources. Specifically, for the Authors - Get operation, it allows users to retrieve detailed information about authors from the OpenAlex database. This can be useful in scenarios such as academic research, bibliometric analysis, or building applications that require enriched author metadata.

Practical examples include:

  • Fetching author details by their unique identifier or external IDs (like DOI or PMID).
  • Searching for authors based on keywords or specific filters.
  • Retrieving random author samples for exploratory data analysis.
  • Grouping author data by certain fields to get aggregated counts.

Properties

Name Meaning
Email Your email address is required by OpenAlex to use their API. It is used to contact you in case of any issues with your requests.
Filters Filters to apply to the request, e.g., "is_oa:true" to filter for open access works. See OpenAlex API documentation for available filters.
Group By Get counts of resources grouped by a specific field, e.g., group_by=has_doi returns counts of works with and without DOIs. See API docs for valid group-by fields.
ID The unique identifier for the author resource. Optional; can be used to retrieve a single author directly by its ID. External IDs like "doi", "pmid", "pmcid", or "mag" are also supported.
Search Query A search string to query authors in OpenAlex.
Random result If set to true, returns a random author instead of a specific resource. Cannot be combined with other parameters. Useful for sampling.
Results Page Specifies which page of results to return when multiple pages exist. Minimum value is 1.
Select Fields Comma-separated list of fields to include in the response, limiting the amount of data returned. For example, "id,display_name,doi" will only return those fields for each author.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing author data retrieved from OpenAlex. Each object corresponds to one author or a grouped count depending on the query parameters.

The structure of each JSON object depends on the fields requested and the OpenAlex API response but typically includes identifiers, names, affiliations, publication metrics, and other metadata about authors.

No binary data output is produced by this node.

Dependencies

  • Requires internet access to call the OpenAlex public API.
  • Requires the user to provide a valid email address as part of the request parameters, per OpenAlex API usage policy.
  • No additional credentials or API keys are needed beyond the email parameter.
  • Uses standard HTTP GET requests with query parameters.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid email: The API requires a valid email address. Ensure the "Email" property is correctly filled; otherwise, requests may be rejected.
  • Conflicting parameters: Setting "Random result" to true cannot be combined with other parameters like filters or search queries. Doing so may cause errors or unexpected behavior.
  • Invalid IDs or filters: Using incorrect or malformed IDs or filters may result in empty responses or errors. Verify values against OpenAlex API documentation.
  • Rate limits or API downtime: Although OpenAlex is free, heavy usage might hit rate limits or temporary service issues. Check network connectivity and retry later if necessary.
  • Pagination issues: If requesting pages beyond available results, the response may be empty. Adjust the "Results Page" accordingly.

Links and References

Discussion