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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

Sources → 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. It allows users to retrieve detailed information about various scholarly entities such as sources, authors, works, institutions, and more.

For the Sources - Get operation specifically, the node fetches data about publication sources indexed by OpenAlex. This can be used to obtain metadata about journals, repositories, or other publication venues.

Common scenarios include:

  • Retrieving metadata for a specific source by its unique identifier.
  • Searching sources based on keywords or filters.
  • Getting aggregated counts grouped by certain fields (e.g., number of sources by type).
  • Fetching a random source for sampling purposes.

Practical examples:

  • A researcher wants to get detailed information about a journal by its OpenAlex ID.
  • An institution wants to analyze sources that publish open access content by applying filters.
  • A developer builds an app that displays random scholarly sources for discovery.

Properties

Name Meaning
Email Your email address required by OpenAlex to use their API. It is used to contact you in case of any issues with your requests.
Additional Fields Collection of optional parameters to customize the request:
- Filters Filters to apply to the request, e.g., is_oa:true to filter for open access sources. See OpenAlex API docs for available filters.
- Group By Field name to group results by and get counts, e.g., group_by=has_doi. See API docs for valid group-by fields.
- ID Unique identifier of the source to retrieve a single item directly. Can also use external IDs like DOI, PMID, PMCID, or MAG.
- Search Query Text query to search sources matching the given string.
- Random result Boolean flag; if true, returns a random source instead of a specific one. Cannot be combined with other parameters.
- Results Page Number specifying which page 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, e.g., id,display_name,doi.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the retrieved source(s) from OpenAlex. Each object contains fields as returned by the OpenAlex API, which may include identifiers, display names, metadata, counts, and other relevant details about the source.

If binary data were involved (not applicable here), it would be summarized accordingly, 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, per OpenAlex API usage policy.
  • No additional credentials or API keys are needed beyond the email parameter.
  • No special environment variables or n8n configurations are required.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid email: The OpenAlex API requires an email address for contact purposes. Omitting or providing an invalid email may cause the API to reject requests.
  • Invalid filters or parameters: Using unsupported filter syntax or invalid group-by fields will result in API errors. Consult the OpenAlex API documentation for correct usage.
  • Conflicting parameters: Setting random to true along with other parameters (like filters or id) is not allowed and will cause errors.
  • Network issues: Ensure the node has network connectivity to reach https://api.openalex.org.
  • Pagination errors: Providing a page number less than 1 will be rejected; ensure page numbers start at 1.

Links and References

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