ICPSR
Knowledge
Graph

A graph database connecting ICPSR datasets, publications, authors, topics, and funders via DataCite and OpenAlex.

Connecting datasets
to scholarship

The ICPSR Knowledge Graph links ICPSR datasets to the publications that cite them, the authors who wrote them, the funders who supported them, and the topics they cover.

Built from DataCite metadata and OpenAlex's open scholarly graph, the database is designed for researchers studying data reuse, citation patterns, and scholarly infrastructure.

  • DataCite DOI metadata for ICPSR datasets — titles, creators, subjects, funders, related identifiers, and geographic coverage.
  • OpenAlex Open scholarly graph providing publication records, authorship, institutional affiliations, topics, keywords, and citation links.

The graph at a glance

31,160
Datasets
98,626
Publications
2
Data Sources
DataCite + OpenAlex
15
Node Types
18
Relationship Types
1
Graph Database
Neo4j AuraDB

What's in the graph

Node Types

Dataset
Publication
Author
Creator
Funder
Organization
Topic
Subject
Keyword
Journal
Place
SDG
MeshTerm
Award
Year

Relationship Types

CITES
DOCUMENTS
SUPPLEMENTS
CREATED
AUTHORED
FUNDED
AFFILIATED_WITH
HAS_SUBJECT
HAS_TOPIC
HAS_KEYWORD
LOCATED_IN
PUBLISHED_IN
RELATES_TO_SDG
HAS_MESH_TERM
RECEIVED_AWARD
CITED_IN_YEAR

What you can do

Find papers citing a dataset

GET/v1/datasets/citations
?doi=10.3886/icpsr28161.v1

Returns publications that cite a specific ICPSR dataset, sorted by citation count.

Search datasets by topic

GET/v1/search
?q=crime&label=Dataset

Full-text search across dataset titles, abstracts, and descriptions. Filter by any node type.

Look up a publication

GET/v1/publications/W2101736928

Fetch a publication by its OpenAlex ID, including title, year, citation count, and open access status.

Get a publication's authors

GET/v1/publications/W2101736928
/authors

Returns authors with position (first, middle, last) and corresponding-author flag.

Request API access

The ICPSR Knowledge Graph API is available to researchers. Access is granted via API key. Submit a brief request describing your name, institution, and intended use — keys are typically issued within a few business days.

Request Access

The ICPSR Knowledge Graph is supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01GM158694-02. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.