# ScienceDirect MCP

> Elsevier ScienceDirect connects your AI agent directly to millions of scientific, technical, and medical articles and book chapters. Search for specific data using advanced queries, pull full text or abstracts instantly, and verify access rights—all from one chat window.

## Overview
- **Category:** knowledge-management
- **Price:** Free
- **Tags:** scholarly-articles, peer-reviewed, academic-search, research-data, metadata-retrieval, scientific-literature

## Description

When you connect this MCP, your AI client becomes a specialized research assistant trained on the world's foremost academic literature. You stop clicking through library portals and start asking questions. Instead of wading through paywalls or navigating complex databases manually, you ask for specific information—say, 'What are the key findings regarding CRISPR applications in human tissue?' The agent finds the articles, pulls the relevant abstracts, and hands them back to you, ready for analysis. Furthermore, it helps manage institutional compliance by verifying whether you have the right to host or use a particular paper. This deep connection allows your AI client to perform complex research tasks that used to require multiple specialized tools working together. By hosting this MCP on Vinkius, you gain access to a single point of entry for global scientific data.

## Tools

### get_article_entitlement
Checks if a specific user has the rights to view an article.

### get_article_metadata
Retrieves detailed background information about an academic paper.

### get_article
Pulls the full text or just a summary of an article using its ID, DOI, or Scopus number.

### get_hosting_permissions
Determines if an article is currently subject to an embargo or can be hosted in other repositories.

### get_nonserial_title
Gets the title and metadata for books identified by their ISBN number.

### get_object
Finds attached media files or supplemental materials linked to an article.

### get_serial_title
Retrieves the title and metadata for academic journals identified by their ISSN number.

### get_subject_classifications
Fetches the specific subject categories or taxonomy tags assigned to a paper.

### search_sciencedirect
Runs advanced, full-text searches across ScienceDirect's entire publication library.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
Search ScienceDirect for recent articles about CRISPR in Title/Abstract/Keywords.
```

**Response:** 
```
I've found several recent articles on CRISPR. The top results include 'CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing in Human Cells' and 'Advances in CRISPR Technology'. Would you like the abstract for any of these?
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Get the full text for the article with DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2023.01.001.
```

**Response:** 
```
Retrieving full content for DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2023.01.001... I have successfully fetched the article. It covers new insights into cellular signaling pathways. How would you like me to summarize it?
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Check the hosting permissions for PII S0022-2836(21)00123-4.
```

**Response:** 
```
Checking hosting permissions for PII S0022-2836(21)00123-4... This article has an active embargo period ending on 2024-12-01. After this date, it can be hosted in institutional repositories.
```

## Capabilities

### Search the entire database
You can execute advanced searches across articles and books using Boolean logic to narrow down results quickly.

### Fetch article content
The agent pulls either a full text or a concise abstract of an academic paper based on identifying details like DOI or Scopus ID.

### Check data and hosting rights
You can verify if your institution has permission to host content or check for active embargo periods on specific articles.

### Identify source types
The agent fetches specialized metadata for both journal titles (by ISSN) and books (by ISBN).

## Use Cases

### Reviewing a literature gap for a thesis
A PhD candidate needs to prove that nobody has studied topic X in the last five years. They ask their agent to run an advanced search using `search_sciencedirect` with precise date and keyword filters, getting a clean list of results they can analyze immediately.

### Curating a departmental digital archive
A librarian needs to ensure all collected papers are reusable. They use the agent to check every title using `get_article_entitlement` and `get_hosting_permissions`, building an instant compliance report for their department.

### Analyzing source material types
A data science team is compiling a dataset of sources. They use the agent to check both journal titles via `get_serial_title` and book details via `get_nonserial_title`, ensuring they categorize every piece of source material correctly.

### Quickly summarizing complex research
A user receives a DOI for an article they haven't read. They prompt their agent to execute `get_article` using the DOI, instantly pulling a summary or full text so they can decide if it’s relevant without spending minutes navigating journal paywalls.

## Benefits

- Instead of manually copying identifiers, you can use the `get_article` tool to pull abstracts or full texts using just a DOI or Scopus ID. Your agent handles the heavy lifting so you don't have to.
- You eliminate compliance risk by running checks like `get_hosting_permissions`. This ensures that any content you plan to use, cite, or archive is legally available for your institution.
- The platform gives you structured data immediately. Use `get_article_metadata` to pull detailed background info on a paper, giving you fields like subject classifications and author details in an easy-to-use format.
- You can manage the entire scope of knowledge. You don't just search articles; use `get_serial_title` for journals (by ISSN) or `get_nonserial_title` for books (by ISBN) to map out your source material efficiently.
- The system supports complex querying. The `search_sciencedirect` tool lets you write advanced Boolean searches across the full text of millions of articles, finding connections you'd miss otherwise.

## How It Works

The bottom line is that your AI client bypasses web portals and speaks directly to the scientific database's core systems.

1. First, subscribe to this MCP in the Vinkius catalog and provide your Elsevier API Key along with any institutional tokens.
2. Next, tell your AI client exactly what you need—for example, 'Search for articles on deep learning in oncology.'
3. Finally, the agent processes the query against ScienceDirect, returning structured data like abstracts, metadata, or full text directly to your chat environment.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How do I use the Elsevier ScienceDirect MCP for full-text articles?**
Use the `get_article` tool. You'll need to provide an identifier like a DOI, Scopus ID, or PII number to pull either the complete text or just the abstract.

**Can I use Elsevier ScienceDirect MCP to check book information?**
Yes, you can. Use the `get_nonserial_title` tool and provide the ISBN number; it will retrieve the title and metadata for the book source.

**What is the best way to search across many topics with ScienceDirect MCP?**
Use the `search_sciencedirect` tool. It handles advanced Boolean queries, letting you filter by keywords, dates, and specific fields across millions of articles.

**Does Elsevier ScienceDirect MCP check if I can host research papers?**
Absolutely. The `get_hosting_permissions` tool checks the article's embargo status and determines if it is cleared for use in institutional repositories, protecting you from compliance issues.

**How does ScienceDirect MCP help with subject classification?**
Use the `get_subject_classifications` tool. It automatically pulls the assigned taxonomy tags and subject categories, which is perfect for building structured data sets in your research.