openalexR: An R-Tool for Collecting Bibliometric Data from OpenAlex

Abstract

Bibliographic databases are indispensable sources of information on published literature. OpenAlex is an open-source collection of academic metadata that enable comprehensive bibliographic analyses [@priem2022openalex]. In this paper, we provide details on the implementation of openalexR, an R package to interface with the OpenAlex API. We present a general overview of its main functions and several detailed examples of its use. Following best API package practices, openalexR offers an intuitive interface for collecting information on different entities, including works, authors, institutions, sources, and concepts. openalexR exposes to the user different API parameters including filtering, searching, sorting, and grouping. This new open-source package is well-documented and available on CRAN.