  Scopus and the Web of Science have been the foundation for research in the
science of science even though these traditional databases systematically
underrepresent certain disciplines and world regions. In response, new
inclusive databases, notably OpenAlex, have emerged. While many studies have
begun using OpenAlex as a data source, few critically assess its limitations.
This study, conducted in collaboration with the OpenAlex team, addresses this
gap by comparing OpenAlex to Scopus across a number of dimensions. The analysis
concludes that OpenAlex is a superset of Scopus and can be a reliable
alternative for some analyses, particularly at the country level. Despite this,
issues of metadata accuracy and completeness show that additional research is
needed to fully comprehend and address OpenAlex's limitations. Doing so will be
necessary to confidently use OpenAlex across a wider set of analyses, including
those that are not at all possible with more constrained databases.
