Publication service Q&A

What is the openTA publication service?

The openTA publication service aggregates bibliographic information on publications from member institutions of the Network for Technology Assessment (NTA) as well as information on TA-relevant publications from other sources. The openTA publication service is intended to provide an overview of current TA publications.

Where does the information come from?

The bibliographic information in the publication service comes from various sources. The NTA member institutions are the main data providers. In addition, data is obtained from the German National Library and specialised databases. If you have interesting current or historical publication data relating to TA, please contact us. We are always interested in expanding our database.

How many publications are listed in the publication service?

The number of publications listed in the publication service is steadily increasing. When the publication service was launched in June 2014, there were only 2,700 data records. In March 2020, there were already over 37,000.

Which publications are listed in the publication service?

The publication service lists in particular publications published by the member institutions of the NTA. Publications from other sources that are thematically relevant to the field of TA but do not originate from an NTA institution are also listed. Printed and electronic publications are listed. In the case of electronic publications, both open access and restricted titles are listed.

Are non-German-language publications also listed in the publication service?

Yes, publications from NTA member institutions and from external sources are listed in the openTA publication service. The NTA comprises members from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The titles listed in the openTA publication service therefore originate largely from the D-A-CH countries. The titles can be written in any language. However, the majority of the publications are in German or English. External sources are, for example, the German National Library or the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The language filter shows the variety of languages. However, it should be noted that not all publication references also indicate the language in their metadata. The language filter does not apply to these.

Can I access full texts of publications via the openTA publication service?

In some cases: yes. The focus of the openTA publication service is on aggregating and verifying bibliographic metadata. This metadata also contains links that refer to open access pages.

My search for a publication I know of did not produce any hits. Why not?

The openTA Publication Service contains selected publications that have been chosen on the basis of specific selection mechanisms. If you cannot find a particular publication, it may be that this publication originates from an NTA institution that does not yet provide data to openTA or that the title is not directly relevant to TA and has therefore not been included in our selection mechanisms. Please write to us if you know of data sources with TA relevance that you consider suitable for inclusion in the openTA publication service.

Can I export the data to my reference management system (e.g. Citavi or EndNote)?

Yes, an export function is offered for one or more data records in text, RIS or BibTeX format. RIS and BibTeX formats can be imported using reference management systems such as Citavi or EndNote. To do this, click on the green symbol with the arrow.

How can NTA institutions and libraries contribute to the publication service?

Organisations that deal with TA or provide evidence of TA-relevant publications are invited to make their publication information accessible via openTA. There are different methods for this. The bibliographic data should be delivered to openTA in a format that is as standardised as possible. The openTA team will be happy to advise you on the best way to transfer data for both sides. Libraries usually have standardised interfaces to their catalogues. Using specific search queries, openTA may be able to filter out the TA-relevant holdings and transfer the metadata. If you are interested in having openTA retrieve the data from your library catalogue, please send an e-mail to: info@openta.net.

Where do the publications for the openTA publication service come from?

For the openTA publication service, bibliographic metadata is obtained from various sources. You can access the publications collected on openTA from the relevant institution via the link to the respective source.

Last change: 25.04.2025