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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
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Institutions → 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 Institutions resource with the Get operation, it allows users to retrieve detailed information about academic institutions indexed by OpenAlex.

Common scenarios where this node is beneficial include:

  • Academic research workflows needing metadata about institutions.
  • Data enrichment processes where institutional affiliations are relevant.
  • Building dashboards or reports that aggregate institution-related scholarly data.

For example, a user might query an institution by its unique ID or search for institutions matching certain criteria, such as those involved in open access publishing or grouped by specific attributes.

Properties

Name Meaning
Email Your email address required by OpenAlex to use their API. It is used to contact you if there are any issues with your requests.
Filters Optional 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 Field name to group results by, returning counts per group. For example, grouping by has_doi returns counts of works with and without DOIs.
ID Unique identifier of the institution resource. Can be used to retrieve a single institution directly by its ID or external IDs like DOI, PMID, PMCID, or MAG.
Search Query A search string to find institutions matching the query.
Random result If true, returns a random institution instead of a specific one. Cannot be combined with other parameters.
Results Page The page number of results to return (pagination). 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.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the retrieved institution(s) from OpenAlex. Each object contains fields as returned by the OpenAlex API, which may include identifiers, names, location details, counts of works, and other metadata depending on the selected fields and filters.

If binary data were supported (not indicated here), it would typically represent files or media associated with the institution, but this node only returns JSON data.

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, as mandated by OpenAlex API usage policies.
  • No additional credentials or environment variables are needed beyond the email input property.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid email: The API requires a valid email address; omitting or providing an invalid email may cause request failures.
  • Conflicting parameters: Setting random to true while also specifying other parameters like id or search will likely cause errors because these options cannot be combined.
  • Invalid filters or groupBy values: Using unsupported filter syntax or grouping fields not recognized by OpenAlex will result in empty responses or errors.
  • Pagination issues: Requesting pages beyond the available range may return empty results.
  • Network or API downtime: As this node depends on an external API, network issues or OpenAlex service interruptions can cause request failures.

To resolve errors, verify parameter correctness, ensure the email is valid, and consult OpenAlex API documentation for proper filter and field usage.

Links and References

Discussion