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OpenAlex

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

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Works → Get

AI-generated

Overview

This node integrates with the OpenAlex API, a free and comprehensive index of scholarly works, authors, institutions, and related academic metadata. Specifically, the "Works" resource with the "Get" operation allows users to retrieve detailed information about scholarly works such as research papers.

Common scenarios for this node include:

  • Fetching metadata about specific academic papers by their unique identifiers (DOI, PMID, etc.).
  • Searching for works based on keywords or custom search queries.
  • Filtering works by attributes like open access status.
  • Retrieving random samples of works for exploratory analysis.
  • Grouping results by certain fields to get aggregated counts.

Practical examples:

  • A researcher wants to gather metadata for a list of DOIs to analyze citation patterns.
  • An academic librarian searches for open access works published in a particular year.
  • A data scientist retrieves random works to build a training dataset for machine learning models.

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 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, has_doi to count works with and without DOIs.
ID Unique identifier for a single work resource. Can be an internal OpenAlex ID or external IDs like DOI, PMID, PMCID, or MAG.
Search Query Text query string to search OpenAlex works.
Random result Boolean flag; if true, returns a random work instead of a specific resource. 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. For example, id,display_name,doi.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the retrieved works from OpenAlex. Each object corresponds to either a single work or a collection of works depending on the query parameters.

The structure of each work object follows the OpenAlex API schema, typically including fields such as:

  • id: The unique OpenAlex identifier for the work.
  • display_name: The title or name of the work.
  • doi: Digital Object Identifier if available.
  • Other metadata fields depending on the selected fields and filters applied.

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 (used by OpenAlex for contact purposes).
  • No additional credentials or API keys are needed beyond the email parameter.
  • No special environment variables or n8n configurations are necessary.

Troubleshooting

  • Missing or invalid email: The OpenAlex API requires an email address. If omitted or invalid, the API may reject requests or throttle usage. Ensure the email property is correctly set.
  • Conflicting parameters: Setting random to true cannot be combined with other parameters like filters or search. Doing so may cause errors or unexpected results.
  • Invalid IDs or filters: Providing incorrect or malformed IDs or filter strings can lead to empty responses or API errors. Verify IDs and filter syntax against OpenAlex API documentation.
  • Rate limiting: Although OpenAlex is free, excessive requests might be throttled. Consider adding delays or pagination controls.
  • Network issues: Ensure the node has network connectivity to reach https://api.openalex.org.

Links and References

Discussion