This document provides an overview of a training session on the OpenAlex API, led by Donny Winston from Polyneme LLC. The session includes hands-on activities focused on API authentication, accessing single entities, filtering and sorting entities, and retrieving aggregate information. It also allocates time for questions and answers at the end of the training.

1. Intro to the OpenAlex API
Donny Winston <donny@polyneme.xyz>
Polyneme LLC
Working with Scholarly APIs: A NISO Training Series
2022-06-02T11:00:00-04:00

2. Welcome
q Open Postman: https://www.postman.com/ or app
q Open OpenAlex Documentation: https://docs.openalex.org/
• Plan:
• [15min hands-on, 5min Q&A] Get up and running with the API using Postman,
including authentication to the so-called "polite pool" for best performance;
• [15min hands-on, 5min Q&A] Get single entities and review the structure and
semantics of entity metadata;
• [15min hands-on, 5min Q&A] Get lists of entities by leveraging basic filtering, full-
text search, sorting, and pagination; and
• [15min hands-on, 5min Q&A] Get aggregate information on groups of entities
directly from the API without any need for post-processing.
• [30min Q&A] Some extended Q&A, then Wrap-up.

3. Let’s get authenticated
• https://docs.openalex.org/api

4. Get single entities
• https://docs.openalex.org/api/get-single-entities

5. Get lists of entities
• https://docs.openalex.org/api/get-lists-of-entities

6. Get groups of entities
• https://docs.openalex.org/api/get-groups-of-entities