Compare sources
Two services repeating the same document are not two independent pieces of evidence. Compare the research object, data origin and period first.
| Compare sources | OpenAlex | Crossref Metadata Search |
|---|---|---|
| What this source helps you find | Explore open metadata for scholarly works, authors, institutions and citation links. | Search metadata deposited with Crossref by DOI, title, author or citation. |
| Limit to retain in your conclusion | Coverage and record matching vary; inclusion or citation counts do not validate scientific quality. | A DOI identifies a record but does not prove peer review or guarantee that all deposited fields are complete. |
| Useful search anchors |
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| Fields to record when citing a result |
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| Evidence record to retain | Work identifier, available DOI, type, authors, affiliations and access date. | Exact DOI, title, authors, publisher, date and declared update links. |
| Check before drawing a conclusion | Check author matches against the publication; namesakes may distort a works list. | Open the publisher page; bibliographic metadata alone cannot verify a scientific finding. |
| Coverage | INT | INT |
| Official reference page | Official reference page | Official reference page |
This record concerns the cited page on this date, not permanent service availability or every feature. Data, files and APIs may have different access conditions.
Identify the producer of the underlying document. A portal, API and search engine may distribute the same data. To confirm a fact, seek a document with a different origin; to check a transcription, compare the original with its reuse.
The consultation date does not replace the effective, publication or acquisition date. A current and an archived result may both be correct for different periods. Record the status and version of each document.
Keep the query, name variants and filters. No result may reflect limited coverage, a delay, restrictive searching or a wrong identifier. It does not establish that a fact does not exist.
