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OpenAlex Integration

PBS Knowledge imports publication data from OpenAlex to maintain faculty publication records and citation metrics.

Overview​

What is OpenAlex?​

OpenAlex is a free, open catalog of scholarly works:

  • Over 200 million publications
  • Author disambiguation
  • Citation tracking
  • Open access status
  • Institution affiliations

What Gets Imported​

For each publication:

  • Title and abstract
  • Authors and affiliations
  • Publication venue
  • Publication date
  • DOI and other IDs
  • Citation count
  • Open access URL

Setting Up Integration​

Faculty Configuration​

For publication import to work:

  1. Faculty link their ORCID or OpenAlex ID
  2. System matches publications by author ID
  3. Publications import automatically

Linking ORCID​

  1. Faculty goes to Profile → External IDs
  2. Clicks Link ORCID
  3. Authorizes on ORCID website
  4. ORCID connects automatically

Adding OpenAlex ID​

  1. Find faculty on OpenAlex
  2. Copy author ID (e.g., A1234567890)
  3. Enter in profile settings
  4. Save

Import Process​

Automatic Import​

Publications sync automatically:

  • Daily check for new publications
  • Weekly citation count updates
  • Monthly full reconciliation

Manual Import​

Trigger import for specific faculty:

  1. Go to Admin → Publications → Import
  2. Select faculty members
  3. Choose import options:
    • Date range
    • Import new only
    • Update existing
  4. Run import

Bulk Import​

Import for all faculty:

  1. Go to Admin → Publications → Bulk Import
  2. Configure options
  3. Schedule or run immediately
  4. Monitor progress

Author Matching​

How Matching Works​

OpenAlex matches authors by:

  1. ORCID (most reliable)
  2. OpenAlex author ID
  3. Name + affiliation (less reliable)

Verification Workflow​

After import:

  1. Publications marked as "imported"
  2. Faculty review their publications
  3. Verify or reject attributions
  4. Verified publications are confirmed

Handling Mismatches​

For incorrect matches:

  • Faculty marks as "Not Me"
  • Publication excluded from their profile
  • Helps improve future matching

Citation Tracking​

Citation Counts​

OpenAlex provides:

  • Total citation count
  • Citations by year
  • Self-citation adjustment

Update Frequency​

  • Citation counts update weekly
  • h-index recalculates weekly
  • Metrics available in faculty profiles

Metrics Available​

MetricDescription
Total CitationsSum of all citations
h-indexProductivity and impact measure
Recent CitationsCitations in last year
Top PapersMost-cited publications

Managing Publications​

Viewing Imported Publications​

  1. Go to Admin → Publications
  2. Filter by import status
  3. See verification status
  4. Manage exclusions

Handling Duplicates​

When duplicates appear:

  1. System attempts automatic deduplication
  2. Review flagged duplicates
  3. Merge or mark as distinct

Manual Additions​

For publications not in OpenAlex:

  1. Faculty can add manually
  2. Administrators can bulk import
  3. Manual entries marked differently

Configuration​

Import Settings​

Configure in Admin → Settings → OpenAlex:

  • Import frequency
  • Author matching threshold
  • Publication types to include
  • Date range limits

Filtering​

Control what imports:

  • Publication types (articles, books, etc.)
  • Date ranges
  • Minimum citations (optional)
  • Specific venues

Monitoring​

Import Status​

View import health:

  1. Go to Admin → Publications → Status
  2. See last import time
  3. View import counts
  4. Check error rates

Import History​

Review past imports:

  • Date and time
  • Records processed
  • New publications added
  • Errors encountered

Alerts​

Set up alerts for:

  • Import failures
  • High error rates
  • Unusual import volumes

Troubleshooting​

Publications Not Importing​

  1. Verify ORCID/OpenAlex ID is linked
  2. Check publication is in OpenAlex
  3. Review import logs
  4. Check date filters

Wrong Author Match​

  1. Faculty marks as "Not Me"
  2. Review matching criteria
  3. Update external IDs if needed
  4. Contact support for persistent issues

Missing Citations​

  1. Citations update weekly
  2. OpenAlex may have delays
  3. Very recent papers may not have citations yet
  4. Check OpenAlex directly

Import Performance​

If imports are slow:

  1. Check API rate limits
  2. Review batch sizes
  3. Schedule during off-hours
  4. Contact support for optimization

Best Practices​

For Administrators​

  • Monitor import status regularly
  • Review error logs weekly
  • Help faculty link IDs
  • Address duplicates promptly

For Faculty​

  • Link ORCID for best results
  • Review imported publications
  • Verify attributions
  • Report persistent issues

Data Quality​

  • Encourage ORCID adoption
  • Review matches regularly
  • Maintain clean records
  • Document exclusions