generated: '2026-09-06'
method: derived
source: >-
  openapi/elsevier-*-swagger.json (7 first-party Swagger 2.0 documents, 140 distinct
  definitions) and wadl/ (37 first-party WADL contracts, 149 resources)
supporting_sources:
- https://dev.elsevier.com/support.html (the FAQ that states the Scopus/ScienceDirect relationship)
- https://dev.elsevier.com/sc_abstract_retrieval_views.html and the sibling per-view pages
provider: Elsevier
providerId: elsevier
description: >-
  The Elsevier research-content graph as its own contracts describe it. Two databases sit
  underneath: ScienceDirect holds full text, Scopus holds indexed metadata and citations over a
  much wider publisher set and builds author, affiliation and topic profiles on top. Most
  Elsevier entities are reachable by five interchangeable identifier schemes, and which one you
  hold determines which path you call — that is the single most important shape in this API.
identifier_schemes:
- id: doi
  name: DOI
  standard: ISO 26324
  path_segment: /doi/{doi}
  applies_to: [Abstract, Article, Object, Entitlement]
- id: eid
  name: Elsevier EID
  proprietary: true
  path_segment: /eid/{eid}
  applies_to: [Abstract, Article, Object, Entitlement, Affiliation, Author]
  note: >-
    Affiliation EIDs prefixed 34 are institution-hierarchy profiles; prefixed 10 are the
    ordinary ones (release note 2019-09-12).
- id: pii
  name: PII
  proprietary: true
  path_segment: /pii/{pii}
  applies_to: [Abstract, Article, Object, Entitlement]
- id: pubmed_id
  name: PubMed ID
  standard: NLM
  path_segment: /pubmed_id/{pubmed_id}
  applies_to: [Abstract, Article, Object, Entitlement]
- id: scopus_id
  name: Scopus ID
  proprietary: true
  path_segment: /scopus_id/{scopus_id}
  applies_to: [Abstract, Article, Object, Entitlement]
- id: pui
  name: Embase PUI
  proprietary: true
  path_segment: /pui/{pui}
  applies_to: [Abstract]
- id: orcid
  name: ORCID iD
  standard: ISO 27729-adjacent
  path_segment: /author/orcid/{orcid}
  applies_to: [Author]
- id: issn
  name: ISSN
  standard: ISO 3297
  path_segment: /serial/title/issn/{issn}
  applies_to: [SerialTitle]
- id: isbn
  name: ISBN
  standard: ISO 2108
  path_segment: /nonserial/title/isbn/{isbn}
  applies_to: [NonserialTitle]
entities:
- name: Document
  aka: [Abstract, Article]
  description: >-
    A publication record. The Abstract Retrieval API returns the Scopus-indexed metadata view;
    the Article Retrieval API returns the ScienceDirect full-text view of the same work when
    Elsevier hosts it.
  operations: [AbstractRetrieval, ArticleRetrieval, ArticleMetadata]
  views: [META, META_ABS, META_ABS_REF, FULL, REF, ENTITLED, STANDARD, COMPLETE]
- name: Author
  description: A Scopus author profile, algorithmically built from indexed documents.
  operations: [AuthorRetrieval, AuthorRetrievalid, AuthorSearch, getAuthorByORCID, getAuthor, authorMetrics]
  note: >-
    Profiles are machine-generated, so duplicates exist by design and are corrected through the
    Scopus web UI, not the API.
- name: Affiliation
  aka: [Institution]
  description: >-
    An institution profile. Appears twice in the surface with different shapes — as a Scopus
    Affiliation and as a SciVal Institution — and the two are not the same object.
  operations: [AffiliationRetrieval, AffiliationSearch, getInstitution, getInstitutions, institutionMetrics]
- name: SerialTitle
  description: A journal or serial, keyed by ISSN.
  operations: [SerialTitleSearch, SerialTitleMetadata]
- name: NonserialTitle
  description: A book or other non-serial publication, keyed by ISBN.
  operations: [NonserialTitleSearch, NonserialTitleMetadata]
- name: Object
  description: >-
    A binary asset attached to an article — figure, image, PDF. Retrieved at four resolutions
    (base, high, standard, thumbnail) per reference.
  operations: [ObjectRetrieval]
- name: Entitlement
  description: >-
    A per-identifier answer to "may this caller read the full text". Not content — a
    permission check.
  operations: [ArticleEntitlementRetrieval]
- name: Citation
  description: Citation counts and year-by-year citation overviews for a document.
  operations: [AbstractCitationCount, CitationsOverview]
- name: Topic / TopicCluster
  description: >-
    SciVal's research-area clustering. A Topic belongs to a TopicCluster; both attach metrics
    and both can be scoped by institution, country or source.
  operations: [getTopic, getTopicCluster, topicMetrics, topicClusterMetrics, getTopicsByInstitutionId, getTopicsByCountryId, getTopicsBySourceId]
- name: Country / CountryGroup
  description: SciVal geographic aggregation entities, each with a metrics resource.
  operations: [getCountry, getCountryByCode, countryMetrics, getCountryGroup, countryGroupMetricsV1]
- name: ScopusSource
  description: A SciVal view of a publication venue, keyed to a Scopus source id.
  operations: [getSource, sourceSearch, sourceMetrics]
- name: SubjectArea
  description: >-
    Classification of research areas; also exposed standalone as Subject Classifications on the
    content surface.
  operations: [getSubjectArea, subjectAreaSearch, getSubjectAreasByClassification]
- name: UsageReport
  description: >-
    COUNTER R5 / R5.1 usage statistics for a platform, database or title — the SUSHI surface.
  operations:
  - 'SUSHI GET /sushi/reports/'
  - 'SUSHI GET /sushi/reports/{platform}'
  - 'SUSHI GET /sushi/reports/{database}'
  - 'SUSHI GET /sushi/reports/{title}'
relationships:
- from: Document
  to: Author
  type: has_many
  via: authors / ContributorInfo
- from: Document
  to: Affiliation
  type: has_many
  via: affiliation / ContributorAffiliation
- from: Document
  to: SerialTitle
  type: belongs_to
  via: prism:issn / source-id
- from: Document
  to: NonserialTitle
  type: belongs_to
  via: prism:isbn
- from: Document
  to: Object
  type: has_many
  via: ref (object reference within the article)
- from: Document
  to: Citation
  type: has_one
  via: citedby-count / scopus_id
- from: Document
  to: Entitlement
  type: has_one
  via: the same identifier, on the entitlement path
- from: Author
  to: Affiliation
  type: has_many
  via: affiliation-current / affiliation-history
- from: Author
  to: Document
  type: has_many
  via: author_id in Scopus Search
- from: Affiliation
  to: Affiliation
  type: has_many
  via: institution hierarchy (EID prefix 34 parents over prefix 10 children)
- from: TopicCluster
  to: Topic
  type: has_many
  via: topicClusterId
- from: Topic
  to: ScopusSource
  type: has_many
  via: scopusSourceId
- from: Affiliation
  to: Topic
  type: has_many
  via: /topic/institutionId/{institutionId}
- from: Country
  to: Affiliation
  type: has_many
  via: /institution/countryId/{countryId}
- from: CountryGroup
  to: Country
  type: has_many
  via: /institution/countryGroupId/{countryGroupId}
- from: ScopusSource
  to: SerialTitle
  type: has_one
  via: issn
  note: >-
    The same venue is modelled twice — as a SciVal ScopusSource with metrics and as a content
    SerialTitle with coverage and cover images. There is no single canonical venue object.
error_shape:
  definitions: [ServiceError, ServiceErrorWrap, Status]
  note: The error envelope is itself a declared schema in the Swagger documents.
pagination_shape:
  definitions: [PageContainer, PageContainerItems, PageResults, PageEntry]
summary:
  entities: 14
  relationships: 16
  identifier_schemes: 9
  definitions_in_contracts: 140
  render: null