Guide · Export and import
How to export OpenAlex results for a literature review
Short answer
- 1Tick the box above the results, then click Select all in the banner, so every result is selected.
- 2Click the download icon above the table.
- 3Keep Format on CSV (Excel) and Include abstracts? switched on.
- 4Under Select columns to export, add every column, or at least Work ID and DOI from Ids.
- 5Click Start export.
- 6Open Settings → Exports and download the file when it is ready.
By Kushan Liyana Arachchige, Research MindUpdated
01Before you export: record the search
OpenAlex is a free and open index of scholarly works run by the non-profit OurResearch. It covers every field, holds a large share of theses, preprints and conference papers, and links each work to its authors, institutions, funders and the works it cites.
Record the date, the query and the number of works before you export. In the Advanced view, the query is shown as numbered rows; the copy icon above it copies the whole query. Note the filters you applied too, such as year or type, because they change the result.
02Select every result and open the export window
Tick the box above the results. OpenAlex first selects only the works on the current page and shows a banner such as All 25 on this page selected. Click Select all in that banner to select the whole search; otherwise only one page is exported. Then click the download icon above the table.
In Export results, keep Format on CSV (Excel) and leave Include abstracts? switched on. The file grows larger, but abstracts are what you screen.
Export results
Select columns to export
Available
- DOI
- Has DOI
- Has ORCID
- Has PMCID
- ISSN
- MAG-Only
- Work ID4
- ORCID
- PMID
- PubMed
- ROR ID
Selected (5 at first; every column when all are added)
03Include the Work ID column
The export window starts with only five columns: Title, Author, Year, Citation Count and Open Access. Work ID is not one of them. You will find it in the Available list on the left, under Ids. Add it, and add DOI from the same group.
The simplest choice is to add every column, so the Selected list holds them all and nothing a later analysis needs is missing. Then click Start export.
OpenAlex prepares the file in the background and shows Export submitted. Open Settings → Exports from the link in that message, and download the file from the list when it appears.
Exports
04What an OpenAlex export brings into your review
With every column, an OpenAlex export carries the abstract, keywords and topics, authors with their institutions and countries, funders, citation counts and open access status. The file does not list each work's references. Instead, after you import it, SLReviewFlow looks up the references of each record in OpenAlex by its Work ID, or by its DOI when needed, and adds them to the record.
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Subject terms
- Affiliations
- Funding
- Times cited
- Cited referencesFetched
- Open access
- OpenAlexYour search, with its date and query
- Import fileCSV (Excel) with every column, including Work ID
- Search in SLReviewFlowUpload the file under the search it came from
- PoolDuplicates matched on DOI, Work ID, PMID, then title, authors and year
05What OpenAlex leaves out, and how to work around it
- Some records have no abstract. Publishers do not always share abstracts with open indexes, so some works arrive without one. Plan to screen those on title, or find the abstract at the publisher.
- Metadata is assembled automatically. OpenAlex combines data from many sources. Document types, affiliations and dates are usually right but occasionally wrong, so check the records you include.
- It is broad rather than curated. OpenAlex indexes far more than selective databases, including works of uneven quality. Expect more records to screen than from Scopus or Web of Science for the same query.
06Doing it in SLReviewFlow
Add the OpenAlex file in SLReviewFlow
- In Sources, add OpenAlex, then record the search with its date, query and number of works.
- Upload the CSV under that search. SLReviewFlow checks for the Work ID column before it imports.
- After the import, the cited references are fetched from OpenAlex. Then build the pool; the duplicates guide explains what happens next.
07Common problems
SLReviewFlow rejected my OpenAlex file. Why?
The file has no Work ID column. Export the same search again with Work ID added under Ids in Select columns to export, or with every column, and upload the new file under the same search.
Do I need an OpenAlex account to export?
The export window shows the cost against your remaining OpenAlex budget, which belongs to a signed-in account. Exports of a few hundred records cost a fraction of a cent. If export is not offered, sign in first.
How many works can I export?
OpenAlex's help pages give a maximum of 100,000 works per export. Larger searches take several minutes to prepare.
Should I tick “Shorten column values for Excel compatibility”, if it appears?
No. It cuts long values, such as abstracts and lists of authors, to fit spreadsheet cells. SLReviewFlow reads the full file.
08References
- OpenAlex. Export results from the OpenAlex website. OpenAlex help centre. https://help.openalex.org/hc/en-us/articles/24829724234007-Export-results-from-the-OpenAlex-website
- Priem J, Piwowar H, Orr R. OpenAlex: a fully-open index of scholarly works, authors, venues, institutions, and concepts. arXiv. 2022. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2205.01833
- Rethlefsen ML, Kirtley S, Waffenschmidt S, et al. PRISMA-S: an extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2021;10:39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01542-z