📄 PLOS Journals Scraper

🚀 Extract comprehensive scholarly article data from PLOS ONE - one of the world's largest multidisciplinary open-access journals. Perfect for researchers, academics, and data scientists who need automated access to cutting-edge peer-reviewed research papers across all scientific disciplines.

The PLOS Journals Scraper collects detailed information from PLOS ONE, a nonprofit open-access science, technology, and medicine publisher. Whether you're building a research database, tracking the latest developments in your field, or analyzing publication trends, this tool delivers complete article metadata with just a few clicks.

Target Audience: Researchers, academics, data scientists, research institutions, graduate students, librarians, and knowledge management professionals
Primary Use Cases: Academic research, literature reviews, research database building, trend analysis, citation tracking, knowledge discovery

What Does PLOS Journals Scraper Do?

This tool collects comprehensive scholarly article data from PLOS ONE, supporting multiple search methods and delivering detailed information about research articles across all scientific disciplines. It delivers:

• Complete Article Information: Title, authors, abstract, publication dates, and DOI
• Full Metadata: Journal information, article types, subject areas, keywords
• PDF Access: Direct links to download articles in PDF format
• Research Metrics: Views, citations, saves, and shares data
• Date Tracking: Publication dates for temporal analysis
• Subject Classification: Subject areas and keywords for filtering and categorization
• And much more

Business Value: Build comprehensive research databases, track the latest developments in your field, automate literature reviews, and discover cutting-edge research without manual browsing and data entry.

How to use the PLOS Journals Scraper - Full Demo

Watch this demo to see how easy it is to get started!

[Demo video coming soon]

Input

To start PLOS web scraping, simply fill in the input form. You can scrape PLOS based on:

• Search Query - Enter any search term (e.g., "genetics", "machine learning", "climate change"). This searches across titles, abstracts, and authors.
• Subject Area - Filter by subject area (e.g., "Biology and life sciences", "Medicine and health sciences")
• Article Type - Filter by article type (e.g., "Research Article", "Correction", "Study Protocol")
• Author - Filter by author name (e.g., "Wei Zhang")
• Publication Date From - Start date for publication date range (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• Publication Date To - End date for publication date range (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• Max Items - Set the maximum number of articles to collect (optional). Free users must specify this and are limited to 50 items. Paid users can leave this empty for unlimited collection.
• Start URL - Alternatively, you can paste a direct PLOS search URL. This is useful if you've already created a search on the website and want to use that exact URL. Must include filterJournals=PLoSONE parameter.

Pro Tip: 💡 You can either use the search query and filters, OR paste a start URL. If you use a start URL, the other filters won't apply.

Here's an example input written in JSON:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "searchQuery": "genetics",
  "subjectArea": "Biology and life sciences",
  "articleType": "Research Article"
}

Or using a Start URL:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "startUrl": "https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/search?filterJournals=PLoSONE&q=genetics&page=1"
}

Output

After the Actor finishes its run, you'll get a dataset with the output. The length of the dataset depends on the amount of results you've set. You can download those results as an Excel, HTML, XML, JSON, and CSV document.

Here's an example of scraped PLOS data you'll get if you decide to scrape articles:

[
  {
    "doi": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.1234567",
    "title": "Example Research Article Title",
    "authors": [
      "John Smith",
      "Jane Doe",
      "Robert Johnson"
    ],
    "publicationDate": "2024-01-15",
    "articleType": "Research Article",
    "journal": "PLOS ONE",
    "abstract": "This is a comprehensive abstract of the research article...",
    "detailUrl": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.1234567",
    "pdfUrl": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.1234567&type=printable",
    "subjectAreas": [
      "Biology and life sciences",
      "Genetics"
    ],
    "viewsCount": 1234,
    "citationsCount": 56,
    "savesCount": 12,
    "sharesCount": 8,
    "keywords": [
      "genetics",
      "molecular biology",
      "research"
    ],
    "openAccessStatus": "Open Access",
    "peerReviewStatus": "Peer-reviewed",
    "scrapedTimestamp": "2024-01-20T10:30:00.000Z"
  }
]

What You Get: Complete article information including titles, authors, abstracts, publication details, metrics, and metadata for comprehensive research analysis
Download Options: CSV, Excel, or JSON formats for easy analysis in your business tools

Why Choose the PLOS Journals Scraper?

• Comprehensive Data Collection: Extract complete article metadata including abstracts, authors, journals, and publication dates
• Advanced Filtering: Filter by subject area, article type, author, and publication date range
• PDF Access: Get direct links to download articles in PDF format
• Research Metrics: Access views, citations, saves, and shares data
• No Duplicates: Automatically skips items already in your dataset
• User-Friendly: No coding needed—just input search terms and filters

Time Savings: Save 4-6 hours per week compared to manual literature research
Efficiency: Fraction of the time of manual research processes

How to Use

1. Sign Up: Create a free account w/ $5 credit (takes 2 minutes)
2. Find the Scraper: Visit the PLOS Journals Scraper page
3. Set Input: Add your search query and filters (we'll show you exactly what to enter)
4. Run It: Click "Start" and let it collect your data
5. Download Data: Get your results in the "Dataset" tab as CSV, Excel, or JSON

Total Time: Less than 5 minutes to get started
No Technical Skills Required: Everything is point-and-click

Business Use Cases

Researchers:

• Track new research publications daily
• Monitor scientific trends and developments
• Identify research opportunities quickly
• Build comprehensive literature databases

Academics:

• Stay updated with latest research in your field
• Find relevant articles for teaching and research
• Access full-text articles for academic work
• Monitor developments in specific scientific fields

Research Institutions:

• Build comprehensive research databases
• Track publication trends and patterns
• Analyze research output and impact
• Support evidence-based decision making

Data Analysts:

• Build comprehensive research databases
• Create regular research reports
• Support business decisions with data
• Analyze publication trends and patterns

Using PLOS Journals Scraper with the Apify API

For advanced users who want to automate this process, you can control the scraper programmatically with the Apify API. This allows you to schedule regular data collection and integrate with your existing business tools.

• Node.js: Install the apify-client NPM package
• Python: Use the apify-client PyPI package
• See the Apify API reference for full details

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How does it work?
A: PLOS Journals Scraper is easy to use and requires no technical knowledge. Simply configure your search parameters and let the tool collect the data automatically.

Q: How accurate is the data?
A: The data is extracted directly from PLOS's official website, ensuring high accuracy and reliability. All information matches what you would see on the PLOS website.

Q: Can I schedule regular runs?
A: Yes! You can schedule the scraper to run automatically at regular intervals using Apify's scheduling features, ensuring you always have the latest research data.

Q: What if I need help?
A: Our support team is available to help you get the most out of this tool. Contact us through the Apify platform for assistance.

Q: Is my data secure?
A: Yes, all data is processed securely through Apify's platform. Your data is private and protected according to industry standards.

Integrate PLOS Journals Scraper with any app and automate your workflow

Last but not least, PLOS Journals Scraper can be connected with almost any cloud service or web app thanks to integrations on the Apify platform.

These includes:

• Make
• Zapier
• Slack
• Airbyte
• GitHub
• Google Drive
• and much more.

Alternatively, you can use webhooks to carry out an action whenever an event occurs, e.g. get a notification whenever PLOS Journals Scraper successfully finishes a run.

🔗 Recommended Actors

Looking for more data collection tools? Check out these related actors:

Actor	Description	Link
arXiv Scraper	Extracts scholarly article data from arXiv.org	https://apify.com/parseforge/arxiv-scraper
PubMed Scraper	Collects biomedical literature data from PubMed	https://apify.com/parseforge/pubmed-scraper
Semantic Scholar Scraper	Extracts research paper data from Semantic Scholar	https://apify.com/parseforge/semantic-scholar-scraper
GSA eLibrary Scraper	Extracts government publication data from GSA eLibrary	https://apify.com/parseforge/gsa-elibrary-scraper
PR Newswire Scraper	Collects press release and news content from PR Newswire	https://apify.com/parseforge/pr-newswire-scraper

Pro Tip: 💡 Browse our complete collection of data collection actors to find the perfect tool for your business needs.

Need Help? Our support team is here to help you get the most out of this tool.

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⚠️ Disclaimer: This Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PLOS, Public Library of Science, or any of its subsidiaries. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.