Original Project Overview We maintain a Google Sheets database of academic figures, each with the following columns:
Name Surname Email University Subject
We need to automatically fetch the latest two publications for each individual using: Google Scholar (via SerpAPI’s Scholar API) ORCID (public API) OpenAlex (public API)
The results must be inserted back into specified columns in the Google Sheet (F–Q), updated daily or on-demand.
Key Challenges Sorting by Latest in Google Scholar By default, Scholar returns top-cited or most-relevant articles, not necessarily newest. Must force a date sort (&sort=pubdate) or a separate fallback approach. Handling Ambiguous Names Multiple authors can share the same name. Potentially need to detect and filter out mismatched results. Ensuring Valid Data Types Google Sheets rejects structured or non-string data. Must parse out just the string or numeric year/date. Rate Limits and API Keys Respect daily or per-minute call limits for SerpAPI, ORCID, OpenAlex. Must handle errors gracefully.
Automation Should run as a script from a server or cloud environment (we have console access). Possibly on a schedule (e.g., daily cron job).
Responsibilities Set up a robust Python script or application that: Authenticates to Google Sheets (using service account credentials). DONE Retrieves our researcher data (Name, Surname, Email, University, Subject) from the “Pubs” or “Topics” sheet. Calls SerpAPI’s Google Scholar endpoint with date-sorted queries, including fallback logic if no results appear. Calls ORCID’s public API (optional, can parse structured date fields carefully). Calls OpenAlex’s public API to fetch the newest two works by each author. Inserts the results (title, year/date) back into the correct columns in the Google Sheet (F–Q). Handle name disambiguation or minimal validation so we don’t store obviously incorrect publications.
Deliverables Python script (or small app) that can be triggered manually or on a schedule. Successful write-back of 2 publications each from Google Scholar, ORCID, and OpenAlex (6 total) into the correct columns. Error handling: If no results, store “N/A” or a sensible fallback. Instructions on setup, environment variables, and usage (e.g., README).
What Still Needs To Be Done 1. Fix Google Scholar Fetch Main Problem: You're getting most cited or incorrect results.
Needs Fixing:
Ensure sort=pubdate is actually respected in SerpAPI query.
Add fallback logic: if pubdate query fails (returns nothing), retry without it.
Clean up irrelevant results using basic validation (e.g., check university or subject in result string).
2. OpenAlex Improvements Currently works for some authors. But still needs name disambiguation logic:
Validate author’s affiliation or match on email (if possible).
Fallback if OpenAlex returns wrong author.
3. ORCID Integration (Optional) You paused this due to structured date errors.
If you want to include it again later:
Parse structured publication-date fields into simple strings.
Validate the correct ORCID author before fetching works.
4. Error Handling Improve logging to show:
Which step failed (e.g. API call, parsing, writing to sheet).
Show why (e.g., "no publications found", "mismatched data", "bad year format").
Replace all "N/A" logic with something more transparent (e.g., "No match found for [X]").
5. Name Disambiguation Logic Currently just using Name + University + Subject in the query.
Needs:
Smarter matching logic to avoid irrelevant or repetitive publications.
Maybe strip long names or fuzzy-match affiliations if exact match fails.
6. Cleaner Sheet Writes Fix Google Sheets writing errors:
Avoid trying to write structured JSON (like ORCID publication-date objects).
Ensure all fields written are flat strings (title + year/date only).
7. Automation (Optional) Set up to run automatically (cron job, server scheduler) if needed.
Next.js Site Navigation Overhaul Category: CSS, Frontend Development, HTML, JavaScript, Next.js, React.js, Web Development, Web Design Budget: €12 - €18 EUR
25 Apr 2026 09:58 GMT
E-book penjualan link. Id Category: ECommerce, HTML, Magento, Payment Gateway Integration, PHP, Shopify, Web Development, Web Design, WooCommerce Budget: $50000 - $100000 USD
25 Apr 2026 09:58 GMT
SaaS Product Demo Video (CMMS) Category: After Effects, Animation, Branding, Cinematography, SaaS, Script Writing, Storyboard, Video Editing, Video Production, Video Services Budget: $10 - $30 USD
25 Apr 2026 09:57 GMT
Edit Mobile Gameplay Walkthrough Video Category: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Photo Editing, Video Editing, Video Production, Video Services Budget: ₹12500 - ₹37500 INR
25 Apr 2026 09:57 GMT
Vending Machine Software Development Category: API Development, C, Programming, Inventory Management, Mobile App Development, Payment Processing, PHP, Software Architecture, Software Development Budget: ₹12500 - ₹37500 INR
25 Apr 2026 09:56 GMT
Google Ads Conversion Tracking Category: Digital Marketing, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Tag Management, PHP, SEO, Website Optimization Budget: $30 - $250 CAD
25 Apr 2026 09:55 GMT
Urgent Ai Automation Setup Category: AI (Artificial Intelligence) HW / SW, AI Agents, AI Chatbot Development, AI Development, AI Model Development, AI Model Integration, AI Text To Speech, Automation Budget: $30 - $250 USD
25 Apr 2026 09:54 GMT
Subscription Website Development & Launch Category: API Integration, Content Management System (CMS), HTML, MySQL, Payment Gateway Integration, PHP, Web Development, Web Design Budget: $250 - $750 USD
25 Apr 2026 09:54 GMT
Carta moderna para café bar Category: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Branding, Graphic Design, Illustration, Print Design Budget: €30 - €250 EUR
25 Apr 2026 09:54 GMT
Premium FiveM QBCore Server Development (Custom Build) Category: API Development, Backend Development, Database Management, Game Development, HTML, Inventory Management, MySQL, PHP, Scripting, Web Design Budget: $30 - $250 USD
25 Apr 2026 09:53 GMT
POD Image Creation Coaching Category: AI Content Creation, AI Design, AI Image Editing Budget: ₹1500 - ₹12500 INR
