How does Zotero find research papers using DOIs

mossywall · December 19, 2023

Hi There,

I am having a difficult time finding out how exactly Zotero find research papers when provided with DOI. I am doing a risk assessment for my organization and my supervisor wants to know what sources Zotero is reaching out for to find out the right research paper. I just need a good knowledge about the background mechanism.

Thank you.

adamsmith · December 19, 2023

This line is pretty much the only thing it does: https://github.com/zotero/translators/blob/master/DOI Content Negotiation.js#L67

In plain-ish language, it sends a GET request with an accept header for expected metadata formats to https://doi.org/[DOI] -- the actual data then come most from CrossRef or DataCite, the principal DOI data providers.

FWIW, most relevant information is here: https://www.zotero.org/support/privacy and you can look at everything Zotero does in real time by inspecting the debug output.