# Research Scraper (`vexmeavf/research-scraper`) Actor

One actor, 8 science databases: PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex, Crossref, Europe PMC, DOAJ, Zenodo and OSF. Get plain-language summaries, open-access full text, translation to any language, citation counts, BibTeX/RIS and ISO-standardized output ready for RAG/LLM.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vexmeavf/research-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Marlon Vasquez](https://apify.com/vexmeavf) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Research Scraper — 8 Science Databases in One

**Research paper scraper** that searches **PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex, Crossref, Europe PMC, DOAJ, Zenodo and OSF** in a single run, and returns structured scholarly data with summaries, full text, citations and translations.

### Search scientific papers from 8 databases at once

Give it a topic and get papers from all sources, deduplicated, with citations. Perfect for literature reviews, meta-analyses, and building **RAG/LLM datasets** from scientific literature.

### PubMed scraper + arXiv + OpenAlex + Crossref

| Feature | This Actor | Typical scrapers |
|---------|-----------|------------------|
| Sources | **8 databases** | only one |
| Citation counts + sort by citations | ✅ | ❌ |
| Deduplication across sources | ✅ | — |
| BibTeX / RIS export | ✅ | ❌ |
| Plain-language summary | ✅ | ❌ |
| Open-access full text (PMC) | ✅ | ❌ |
| Translation to ANY language | ✅ | ❌ |
| ISO standardization | ✅ | ❌ |
| Free tier (first 10 results free) | ✅ | ❌ |

### Translate papers into any language

Set `targetLanguage` to any ISO code (`es`, `fr`, `de`, `pt`, `zh-CN`, `ja`, `ar`, `hi`, `ru`, `tr`…) and the Actor translates the title, abstract and summary.

### ISO-standardized output

Every article is normalized to open standards: **ISO 639** (language), **ISO 8601** (dates), **ISSN** (ISO 3297), **ISO 4** (journal abbreviation), **ISO 690** and **APA** citations, plus a **standardization score (0-100)**.

### RAG-ready output

Each item includes a clean `markdown` field and `chunks` (text split for retrieval), ready for LLM pipelines.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `queries` | string\[] | — | Search terms |
| `sources` | string\[] | pubmed, arxiv, openalex, crossref, europepmc, doaj, zenodo, osf | Databases |
| `maxResults` | int | 20 | Total results |
| `targetLanguage` | string | `en` | Any language |
| `sortBy` | string | relevance | or `citations` |
| `freeTier` | int | 10 | First N results free |

### Pricing

Pay per event. **The first 10 results of a run are free** — only results beyond that are charged.

### Use it from your stack (integration-ready)

- **MCP / AI agents** — discoverable via the Apify MCP server (Claude, Cursor, etc.).
- **n8n / Make / Zapier** — run it as a node/step and pass `queries`.
- **LangChain / LlamaIndex** — load papers (markdown + chunks) as documents for RAG.
- **Google Sheets / Airbyte** — push the dataset straight into your sheets or warehouse.
- **API** — `POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/vexmeavf~research-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items` with your token.

#### Schedule recommendation

Run **daily or weekly** to monitor new publications on your topics (ideal with Apify **Schedules**).

### More from us

- **[YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/vexmeavf/youtube-transcript-scraper)** — captions and subtitles from any video, RAG-ready.
- **[Clinical Trials Scraper](https://apify.com/vexmeavf/clinical-trials-scraper)** — ClinicalTrials.gov studies.
- **[OpenAlex Scraper](https://apify.com/vexmeavf/openalex-scraper)** and **[Crossref Scraper](https://apify.com/vexmeavf/crossref-scraper)** — more scholarly sources.

### FAQ

**Is there a free API key needed?**
No. All 8 sources use free public APIs.

**Can I get the full text of the papers?**
Yes, for open-access articles (fetched from PMC).

**What is this good for?**
Literature reviews, research monitoring, and building datasets of scientific papers for AI models.

**Can I export citations?**
Yes — ISO 690, APA, BibTeX and RIS are included per article.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

One or more search terms (any topic).

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Databases to search: pubmed, arxiv, openalex, crossref, europepmc, doaj, zenodo, osf.

## `freeTier` (type: `integer`):

The first N results of a run are FREE. Beyond that, each result is charged.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Order results: 'relevance' or 'citations' (most cited first).

## `deduplicate` (type: `boolean`):

Merge the same paper found in several sources (by DOI/title).

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Total articles across all sources (split evenly).

## `targetLanguage` (type: `string`):

Translate title, abstract and summary into ANY language. Use ISO codes: en, es, fr, de, pt, it, zh-CN, ja, ko, ar, hi, ru, tr, etc. Use 'en' to keep English.

## `translate` (type: `boolean`):

Translate title/abstract/summary to the target language.

## `includeSummary` (type: `boolean`):

Add a short readable summary for each article.

## `includeFullText` (type: `boolean`):

Try to fetch the full text from PMC (when the article is open access).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sources": [
    "pubmed",
    "arxiv",
    "openalex",
    "crossref",
    "europepmc",
    "doaj",
    "zenodo",
    "osf"
  ],
  "freeTier": 10,
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "deduplicate": true,
  "maxResults": 20,
  "targetLanguage": "en",
  "translate": true,
  "includeSummary": true,
  "includeFullText": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One item per article with abstract, summary, optional full text, translations, markdown and chunks.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vexmeavf/research-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("vexmeavf/research-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call vexmeavf/research-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,vexmeavf/research-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/FxfahTI85hk5bGXmf/builds/v45cKHFrikF9TxQts/openapi.json