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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

Topics → Get

AI-generated

Overview

This node integrates with the OpenAlex API, a free and comprehensive index of scholarly papers, authors, institutions, topics, and more. Specifically, for the Topics resource with the Get operation, it allows users to retrieve information about scholarly topics indexed by OpenAlex.

Common scenarios where this node is beneficial include:

  • Academic research workflows that require fetching metadata about specific research topics.
  • Data enrichment processes where topic details are needed to categorize or analyze scholarly works.
  • Generating reports or dashboards based on topic-related data from OpenAlex.

For example, a user might want to get detailed information about a particular topic by its unique ID or search for topics matching a query string. They can also filter results, paginate through them, or request random topic samples.

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.
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 fields.
ID The unique identifier for the topic resource. Optional; can be used to retrieve a single topic directly by its ID. External IDs like DOI, PMID, PMCID, or MAG can also be used if applicable.
Search Query A search string to find topics matching the query.
Random result If set to true, returns a random topic 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 topic.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the retrieved topic(s) from OpenAlex. Each object corresponds to a topic resource and contains fields as returned by the OpenAlex API, potentially filtered by the "Select Fields" property.

If the "ID" is specified, the output will contain a single topic object. If searching or filtering is used, the output may contain multiple topic objects.

No binary data is output by this node.

Dependencies

  • Requires internet access to call the OpenAlex REST API.
  • Requires the user to provide a valid email address as part of the request parameters (used by OpenAlex for contact purposes).
  • No additional credentials or API keys are required beyond the email parameter.
  • No special environment variables or n8n configurations are necessary.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid email address: The OpenAlex API requires an email address for usage. Ensure the "Email" property is filled correctly; otherwise, requests may fail or be rejected.
  • Invalid filters or parameters: Using unsupported filter syntax or invalid group-by fields may cause API errors. Refer to the OpenAlex API documentation for correct usage.
  • Conflicting parameters: Setting "Random result" to true along with other parameters (like filters or ID) is not allowed and will likely cause errors.
  • Pagination issues: Requesting a page number beyond the available range may return empty results.
  • Network or API downtime: As this node depends on external API calls, network issues or OpenAlex service outages will affect execution.

Links and References

Discussion