DataCite DOI Scraper: Research Datasets & Software

Search and extract research metadata, digital object identifiers (DOIs), and academic asset records directly from the public DataCite registry. Gather structured publication details—including creators, publisher names, publication years, titles, and complete JSON:API payloads—into clean datasets ready for instant export as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Instead of manually browsing through database web interfaces, you can collect research data and software citations in bulk for academic tracking, bibliographic research, and reporting.

Use Cases

• Literature & data search: Pull climate, software, or scientific DOI records complete with publisher and year metadata already filled in.
• Dataset shortlists: Filter by resource type (dataset) when you want to isolate research data from general journal articles.
• Software citation lists: Filter by resource type (software) to export specific DOIs, titles, and creator lists.
• Automated archiving: Maintain up-to-date research bibliographies with scheduled recurring runs.
• Free API extractions: Query public endpoints directly without needing an API account or authentication keys.

Extracted Data Points

Each record captures comprehensive metadata:

• DOI string and unique record identifier
• Work title and primary publication year
• Publisher name and registering client relationships
• Creator names (joined with semicolons for easy overview reading)
• Complete attribute and relationship blocks from the source payload

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	String	search	DOI search mode (exports one row per record).
query	String	climate	Search text sent to the query parameter.
resourceType	String	empty	Optional resource type filter (e.g., dataset or software).
maxItems	Integer	100	Maximum number of dataset rows to save (up to 1,000).
timeoutSecs	Integer	300	Overall execution limit in seconds.

Example Input

{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "climate",
  "resourceType": "dataset",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "timeoutSecs": 300
}

Output Format

{
  "id": "10.6084/m9.figshare.34328037.v1",
  "recordKind": "dois",
  "attributes": {
    "doi": "10.6084/m9.figshare.34328037.v1",
    "creators": [{ "name": "chen huang" }],
    "titles": [{ "title": "A global soil microbial atlas reveals asymmetric richness responses to future climate change" }],
    "publisher": "figshare",
    "publicationYear": 2026
  },
  "doi": "10.6084/m9.figshare.34328037.v1",
  "workTitle": "A global soil microbial atlas reveals asymmetric richness responses to future climate change",
  "publisherName": "figshare",
  "publicationYear": 2026,
  "creatorNames": "chen huang"
}

How It Works

1. Processes configuration inputs, applying search terms and optional resource type filters.
2. Paginates through cursor-based API results efficiently while automatically skipping duplicate DOI identifiers.
3. Manages temporary connection disruptions using structured retry intervals.
4. Logs invalid query syntax or unresolvable responses as clean error entries without interrupting execution flow.
5. Generates export-ready datasets available instantly in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I filter results for datasets or software only?

Set the resourceType parameter to dataset or software. Leave it blank if you want to search across all record types.

What happens if a query syntax is invalid?

If an unparseable query is submitted, an error entry explaining the issue is logged, while the run completes cleanly.

Can I export datasets directly to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Completed datasets can be downloaded instantly in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats from your run overview.

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Legal & Compliance

Trademark Notice

DataCite DOI and related names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Their mention in this documentation is strictly to identify data utility and compatibility, and does not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

Disclaimer

This tool is an independent utility and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to third-party academic metadata providers. Users are responsible for ensuring their usage complies with relevant terms of service, rate limits, and guidelines.

Is web scraping legal?

This tool collects publicly available research metadata without bypassing access controls. Collecting public data is standard practice, but proper compliance requires considering how the data is used:

• Personal data: Ensure dataset usage respects regional privacy regulations (such as GDPR or CCPA) when combining outputs with personal records.
• Copyright & Terms: Respect the terms of use, usage limits, and licensing terms set by data sources.
• Legal advice: This summary is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute formal legal counsel. To learn more, read Apify's guide: Is web scraping legal?