While oa_fetch() offers a convenient and flexible way of
retrieving results from queries to the OpenAlex API, we may want to
specify some of its arguments to optimize your API calls for certain use
cases.
This vignette shows how to perform an efficient literature search, comparing to a similar search in PubMed using the rentrez package.
Motivating example
Suppose you’re interested in finding publications that explore the links between the BRAF gene and melanoma.
With the rentrez package, we can use the
entrez_search function, which retrieves up to 10 records
matching the search query from the PubMed database.
braf_pubmed <- entrez_search(db = "pubmed", term = "BRAF and melanoma", retmax = 10)
braf_pubmed
#> Entrez search result with 9238 hits (object contains 10 IDs and no web_history object)
#> Search term (as translated): "BRAF"[All Fields] AND ("melanoma"[MeSH Terms] OR ...
braf_pubmed$ids |>
entrez_summary(db = "pubmed") |>
extract_from_esummary("title") |>
tibble::enframe("id", "title")
#> # A tibble: 10 × 2
#> id title
#> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 42675868 Comprehensive genomic profiling of mucosal melanoma reveals novel f…
#> 2 42674934 Are Metabolic Imaging Biomarkers Ready for Clinical Translation in …
#> 3 42674721 Exploring the Role of TERT Promoter Mutations in Advanced Melanoma …
#> 4 42671758 IGF1-IGF1R signaling in tumor-associated macrophages regulates extr…
#> 5 42667537 Real-World Use of Adjuvant Nivolumab for Resected Stage III-IV Mela…
#> 6 42663979 Successful retreatment with dabrafenib and trametinib for cardiac m…
#> 7 42660910 Small-molecule RAS/RAF inhibitors target RAS-driven cancers via all…
#> 8 42657315 Venous thromboembolism and bleeding in advanced melanoma: a propens…
#> 9 42650005 Clinicopathological Predictors of Recurrence in Resected Stage IIB-…
#> 10 42645086 Association Between BRAF Mutation Status and Clinicopathological Fe…On the other hand, with openalexR, we can use the
search argument of oa_fetch():
braf_oa <- oa_fetch(
search = "BRAF AND melanoma",
options = oa_options(pages = 1, per_page = 10),
verbose = TRUE
)
#> Requesting url: <https://api.openalex.org/works?search=BRAF%20AND%20melanoma>
#> Using basic paging...
#> ℹ Getting 1 page of results with a total of 10 records...
braf_oa |>
show_works(simp_func = identity) |>
select(1:2)
#> # A tibble: 10 × 2
#> id display_name
#> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 W2163188200 Mutations of the BRAF gene in human cancer
#> 2 W2128542677 Improved Survival with Vemurafenib in Melanoma with BRAF V600E M…
#> 3 W2128035403 Nivolumab in Previously Untreated Melanoma without BRAF Mutation
#> 4 W2106543129 Inhibition of Mutated, Activated BRAF in Metastatic Melanoma
#> 5 W2156078931 Combined BRAF and MEK Inhibition in Melanoma with BRAF V600 Muta…
#> 6 W2121545342 Combined Vemurafenib and Cobimetinib in BRAF -Mutated Melanoma
#> 7 W2096387850 Combined BRAF and MEK Inhibition versus BRAF Inhibition Alone in…
#> 8 W2136474966 Improved Survival with MEK Inhibition in BRAF-Mutated Melanoma
#> 9 W2168143310 Survival in BRAF V600–Mutant Advanced Melanoma Treated with Vemu…
#> 10 W2166662937 Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Untreated Me…This call performs a search using the OpenAlex API, retrieving the 10 most relevant results for the query “BRAF AND melanoma”.
By default, an oa_fetch() call will return all records
associated with a search, for example, querying “BRAF AND melanoma” in
OpenAlex may return tens of thousands of records. Fetching all of these
records would be unnecessarily slow, especially when we are often only
interested in the top, say, 10 results (based on citation count or
relevance — more on sorting below).
We can limit the number of results with the paging options
per_page (number of records to return per page, between 1
and 200, default 200) and pages (range of pages to return,
e.g., 1:3 for the first 3 pages, default NULL to
return all pages), supplied via options = oa_options(...).
For example, if you want the top 250 records, you can set
-
options = oa_options(per_page = 50, pages = 1:5)to get exactly 250 records; or -
options = oa_options(per_page = 200, pages = 1:2)to get 400 records, then you can slice the dataframe one more time to get the first 250.
Sorting results
By default, the results from oa_fetch are sorted based
on relevance_score, a measure of how closely each result
matches the query.1 If a different ordering is desired, such as
sorting by citation count, you can specify sort in the
options argument.
Here are the commonly used sorting options:
-
relevance_score: Default, ranks results based on query match relevance. -
cited_by_count: Sorts results based on the number of times the work has been cited. -
publication_date: Sorts by publication date.
results <- openalexR::oa_fetch(
search = "BRAF AND melanoma",
options = oa_options(pages = 1, per_page = 10, sort = "cited_by_count:desc"),
verbose = TRUE
)
#> Requesting url:
#> <https://api.openalex.org/works?search=BRAF%20AND%20melanoma&sort=cited_by_count%3Adesc>
#> Using basic paging...
#> ℹ Getting 1 page of results with a total of 10 records...Conclusion
The openalexR package provides a powerful and flexible
interface for conducting academic literature searches using the OpenAlex
API. By controlling the number of results and the sorting order, you can
tailor your search to retrieve the most relevant or impactful
publications. In cases where large datasets are involved, it’s useful to
limit the number of results returned to ensure efficient and timely
searches.
We encourage users to explore further options provided by
openalexR to refine their search and retrieve the specific
data they need for their research projects: