OpenAlex. The grandeur and scars of a bibliographic Frankenstein

Abstract

OpenAlex has established itself as the major open and free alternative to Web of Science and Scopus. Its vast coverage, however, contrasts with the fragility of its foundations. On the one hand, it exceeds 450 million records and offers greater linguistic, disciplinary, and geographical diversity. On the other, its automated and uncurated aggregation carries over poor metadata and thousands of potentially predatory journals. Drawing on this diagnosis, the article offers recommendations on when the database should be used and with what cautions.