We believe it is the role of Dimensions to ensure the scientometrics community has access to the information it needs to develop open, transparent research indicators. Researchers can use Dimensions data to study how research is funded, communicated, commercialized, and makes an impact in the world.

We offer free access to Dimensions for non-commercial scientometric research projects, through which you will get access to Dimensions Analytics, the Dimensions API and/or Dimensions data on Google BigQuery.

In order for your application to qualify and be considered by the review committee, the following minimum criteria need to be met:

  • Your research topic is time-limited and in the field of scientometrics / bibliometrics, i.e. related to how knowledge is created (publications, clinical trials, data), funded (grants), commercialized (patents), or mobilized (policy).
  • You must be pursuing the research for non-commercial purposes (i.e. "research for research's sake") and not for the benefit of a third party (e.g. your university, a consulting client, your own company, etc.).
  • You must intend to publish your results in a peer-reviewed journal, or share them at a scientific conference..

If your request meets the above criteria, please fill in our application form for non-commercial use of Dimensions with as much detail as possible to help us find the best approach in your case. Pay particular attention to the description of your research project and how you are planning to use the API and Dimensions data in it.

To make sure the API (if required) supports the data and functionality you need, please have a look at the API documentation first.

Once you have submitted your application and we have reviewed it, we may get back to you with further questions to specify certain aspects of your project. We will then check with the leadership if we can grant this access. If access is granted, we will be in touch to discuss the legal agreement which will need to be signed, and to arrange access.

Please note that it may take up to a month until we can get back to you as we're receiving a high volume of these requests. Thanks a lot for your understanding.