journalTOCs API Usage

Developers can use the JournalTOCs API (application programming interface) to embed our search functionality within their web applications to make the most of the journal TOC RSS feeds metadata. Anyone with access to RSS Readers can also use the JournalTOCs API.

The API gives you access to our entire database of articles, journals and publishers, which is being updated and continually collected from the publishers' own TOC RSS feeds, as soon as they are published on the web.

The search results will come in RSS format, which can then be parsed and used in your own environment, RSS reader or the search results could be included in your own web page.

Do you want to search for journal titles?
Answer: Use http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals

Do you want to find articles matching a query string?
Answer: use http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/articles

Do you want to have at hand an updated list of your favourite journal TOCs (journals you are following)?
Answer: use http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/user/your@email.address

Do you want to have at tailored search results delivered to or embedded in your website?
Answer: use http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/institution/yourServiceID

API Base URL:
http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api

The API supports four calls:

1. http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals
   Use this call to get the TOC RSS feeds of a specific journal or to get all the journals whose titles match your query string. At the moment the results are returned in RSS 1.0 format only.

   IMPORTANT: In order to be able to use "journals" you must specify your username.
   If you don't have a username with JournalTOCs, please first sign up at
   http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/index.php?action=register
   before using the API call "journals"

   This is an example of using the API to search for all the journals that contain any word starting with scient in their titles:
    
   http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals/scient*?user=macleod.roddy@gmail.com

   In the example, the call is "journals", the query string is "scient*" and the username is macleod.roddy@gmail.com

   
   Examples:
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals/library?user=macleod.roddy@gmail.com gives a list of journals whose title contains the word library.
     
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals/1533-290X?output=articles&user=macleod.roddy@gmail.com returns the latest TOC of the journal with ISSN 1533-290X.
     
   • If you happen to know our internal unique identifier for a journal, you can use it. For example the journalTOCs ID for the Int. Journal of Technology Management (IJTM) is 6465. Therefore http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/journals/6465?output=articles&user=macleod.roddy@gmail.com will return the latest TOC of IJTM.

   Read the full Technical Documentation for "journals" call

   
   
2. http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/articles
   Use this call to get all the articles from our database of TOC RSS feeds, whose metadata includes any keyword of your query string. The results are returned in RSS 1.0 format
   Examples:
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/articles/corrosion gives a list of the latest articles containing the word corrosion.
     
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/articles/"University of Warwick" returns a list of latest articles by authors at "University of Warwick" (please notice the double quotes around University of Warwick for phrase searching).
     
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/articles/dorothy+bishop returns a list of latest articles published by authors with the name Dorothy Bishop.

   Read the full Technical Documentation for "articles" call

   
   
3. http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/user/your@email.address
   Use this call to get the journal TOCs of all journals that you are following. The results are returned in RSS 1.0 format
   Examples:
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/user/macleod.roddy@gmail.com will return all the journals that a user with the email address of r.a.macleod@hw.ac.uk is following. Please notice that this list of journals can be seen by any user that knows the email address of the email address' owner.
   • If you want to get the articles of the journals that a user is following you need to append ?output=articles to the user email address. Example:
     http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/user/l.j.rogers@hw.ac.uk?output=articles
     
   PS: As you cannot save more than follow more than 1000 journals you need to contact us if you require to be alerted only about new issues published in journals from a list of thousands of journals, for example the journals that your Institution is subscribed. In this case, the next call, No. 4, could be more suitable for you.
   

   Read the full Technical Documentation for "user" call

   
   
4. http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/institution/institutionID
   Use this call to search the latest issues of journals for which your service or institution has subscriptions, and then link through to the full text, as everything found should be available to members of that Institution. The requirement is that the institution provides journalTOCs with an API to filter only the subscribed journals from the search results.
   Example:
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/institution/HeriotWatt/corrosion%20steels will return all the articles published in journals for which Heriot Watt University has subscriptions.
     
   This call can also be used for subject based services. The requirement is that the service provides journalTOCs with an API to filter only the relevant subject-based journals from the search results.
   Example:
   • http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/api/institution/TechXtra/corrosion%20steels will return all the articles published in journals that are classified in the subject of TechXtra, in this case mainly technology and engineering.
     

   Read the full Technical Documentation for "institution" call

   
   

Notes:

• Currently the API returns results in RSS format without doing any user-agent negotiation.
• The elements included in the RSS files that the API uses for returning search results are described at http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/API/blog/?p=90

journalTOCs API is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.