What content does OpenAlex include and how does it compare to other databases?

OpenAlex takes inspiration from the Library of Alexandria, wanting to centralize all research information in one place. Likewise, OpenAlex generally covers everything in other databases, plus a lot more (depending on the database) and we’ are continuing to add new sources of metadata. There’s a growing number of peer-reviewed studies showing this. We’d suggest starting with Culbert et al 2024, Alperin et al 2024, and Maddi et al. 2024.

Importantly, we index diverse types of research outputs (including articles, books, datasets, dissertations, and more) across all areas of scholarly activity (including fields underrepresented in other databases like social sciences, humanities, business, and law) in any language. You can explore specific coverage questions in our user interface (link to start exploring), but here is a chart that quickly compares the most commonly used scientific knowledge graphs.