Supported Databases

The Literature Review Tool supports 9 academic databases for comprehensive literature searches.

Database Overview

Database	API Key Required	Domain	Description
PubMed (Europe PMC)	No	Medical/Life Sciences	Medical and life sciences literature
CrossRef	No	Multidisciplinary	Scholarly publications metadata
arXiv	No	STEM	Preprints in physics, math, CS, etc.
CORE	Yes	Multidisciplinary	Open access research papers
SemanticScholar	No	Multidisciplinary	AI-powered academic search
IEEE Xplore	Yes	Engineering/Tech	Engineering and technology publications
Springer Nature	Yes	Multidisciplinary	Academic publications across disciplines
DBLP	No	Computer Science	Computer science bibliography
Scopus	Yes	Multidisciplinary	Comprehensive academic database

Databases Not Requiring API Keys

PubMed (Europe PMC)

Domain: Medical and life sciences literature

Access: Free, no API key required

Features:

• Comprehensive medical literature coverage
• PubMed and PubMed Central content
• Metadata including abstracts, authors, journals
• Date range filtering

Usage in config:

"databases": ["PubMed"]

CrossRef

Domain: Multidisciplinary scholarly publications

Access: Free, no API key required

Features:

• Extensive scholarly publication metadata
• DOI-based identification
• Journal articles, books, conference proceedings
• Date range filtering

Usage in config:

"databases": ["CrossRef"]

arXiv

Domain: Preprints in physics, mathematics, computer science, and more

Access: Free, no API key required

Features:

• Open access preprints
• Recent research before peer review
• Strong coverage in physics, math, CS
• Category-based classification

Usage in config:

"databases": ["arXiv"]

SemanticScholar

Domain: AI-powered multidisciplinary academic search

Access: Free, no API key required

Features:

• AI-powered relevance ranking
• Citation data
• Influential papers identification
• Multidisciplinary coverage

Usage in config:

"databases": ["SemanticScholar"]

DBLP

Domain: Computer science bibliography

Access: Free, no API key required

Features:

• Comprehensive CS publication database
• Conference and journal coverage
• Author disambiguation
• Venue tracking

Usage in config:

"databases": ["DBLP"]

Databases Requiring API Keys

CORE

Domain: Open access research papers

Access: Requires free API key

How to get API key:

1. Visit CORE API Portal
2. Register for a free account
3. Request API key from your dashboard
4. Add to configuration file

Features:

• Open access focus
• Full-text access to many papers
• Metadata extraction
• Repository aggregation

Usage in config:

{
  "databases": ["CORE"],
  "api_keys": {
    "CORE": "your_core_api_key_here"
  }
}

IEEE Xplore

Domain: Engineering and technology publications

Access: Requires API key

How to get API key:

1. Visit IEEE Developer Portal
2. Create an IEEE account
3. Apply for API access
4. Receive API key via email

Features:

• IEEE publications
• IET content
• Conference proceedings
• Standards and specifications

Usage in config:

{
  "databases": ["IEEE"],
  "api_keys": {
    "IEEE": "your_ieee_api_key_here"
  }
}

Springer Nature

Domain: Multidisciplinary academic publications

Access: Requires API key

How to get API key:

1. Visit Springer Nature API Portal
2. Register for an account
3. Create an application
4. Get your API key

Features:

• Springer and Nature journals
• Book chapters
• Conference proceedings
• High-quality peer-reviewed content

Usage in config:

{
  "databases": ["Springer"],
  "api_keys": {
    "Springer": "your_springer_api_key_here"
  }
}

Scopus

Domain: Comprehensive multidisciplinary academic database

Access: Requires API key (institutional access typically required)

How to get API key:

1. Visit Elsevier Developer Portal
2. Register with institutional credentials
3. Create an application
4. Receive API key

Features:

• Largest abstract and citation database
• Author profiles
• Institution tracking
• Citation analysis
• Comprehensive coverage across disciplines

Usage in config:

{
  "databases": ["Scopus"],
  "api_keys": {
    "Scopus": "your_scopus_api_key_here"
  }
}

Choosing Databases

By Research Domain

Medical/Life Sciences:

• PubMed (essential)
• CrossRef
• Scopus (if available)

Computer Science:

• DBLP (essential)
• arXiv
• IEEE
• SemanticScholar

Engineering:

• IEEE (essential)
• Scopus (if available)
• Springer

Multidisciplinary:

• CrossRef
• SemanticScholar
• CORE
• Scopus (if available)

Open Access Focus:

• CORE
• arXiv
• PubMed Central

By Budget/Access

Free (no API keys needed):

• PubMed
• CrossRef
• arXiv
• SemanticScholar
• DBLP

Free API keys:

• CORE

Paid/Institutional access:

• IEEE
• Springer
• Scopus

API Rate Limits and Best Practices

General Guidelines

1. Respect rate limits: The tool includes automatic retries, but be considerate
2. Start small: Test with page_size=50 before large searches
3. Sequential searches: Don’t run multiple searches simultaneously
4. API key security: Never commit API keys to version control
5. Fair use: Follow each provider’s terms of service

Database-Specific Limits

• PubMed: Generally generous limits
• CrossRef: Polite mode implemented (recommended)
• arXiv: Rate limiting on heavy use
• CORE: Fair use policy
• SemanticScholar: Rate limits apply
• IEEE: Depends on API tier
• Springer: Depends on agreement
• DBLP: Generally open
• Scopus: Institutional limits

Troubleshooting

Database Not Returning Results

1. Check API key is correct
2. Verify keywords are appropriate for the database
3. Check date range is reasonable
4. Review console output for error messages

API Key Issues

“API key required” warning:

• Add the API key to your configuration file
• Verify the key is valid
• Check you’re using the correct key for the database

“Invalid API key” error:

• Verify the key is correct
• Check the key hasn’t expired
• Ensure you’re using the key for the right database

Rate Limiting

“Rate limit exceeded” error:

• Wait before retrying
• Reduce page_size parameter
• Consider spreading searches over time

Example Multi-Database Configuration

{
  "research_topic": "machine learning applications in healthcare",
  "keywords": ["machine learning", "healthcare", "diagnosis", "prediction"],
  "initial_prisma_values": {
    "inclusion_criteria": ["type:journal-article", "language:english"],
    "exclusion_criteria": ["type:conference-paper"],
    "databases": [
      "PubMed",
      "CrossRef",
      "IEEE",
      "Springer",
      "SemanticScholar",
      "Scopus"
    ],
    "date_range": "2019-2024"
  },
  "api_keys": {
    "IEEE": "your_ieee_key",
    "Springer": "your_springer_key",
    "Scopus": "your_scopus_key"
  }
}

Next Steps

• Configuration - Configure your database searches
• Usage - Run searches across databases
• FAQ - Common database-related questions