Scholarly Article Schema Plugin

Version: 1.0.3.1 Author: Kerim Sarıgül (OJS Services) Compatibility: OJS 3.3.0.0–3.3.0.22 License: GPL v3

Overview

The Scholarly Article Schema Plugin adds Schema.org structured data (ScholarlyArticle or MedicalScholarlyArticle) to article landing pages using JSON-LD format. This improves semantic indexing, search engine understanding, and academic content discovery while remaining fully compatible with existing Google Scholar meta tags.

Which Package to Download

OJS Version	Branch	Package
3.3.x	ojs-3.3	schemaOrg-ojs3.3-<version>.tar.gz
3.4.x, 3.5.x	ojs-3.4-3.5	schemaOrg-ojs3.4-3.5-<version>.tar.gz

Key Features

• Schema.org JSON-LD Output: Automatically generates structured data for every published article
• Dual Schema Support: Choose between ScholarlyArticle (general) or MedicalScholarlyArticle (medical journals)
• Rich Metadata: Includes authors, affiliations, ORCID, DOI, keywords, abstracts, publication dates, and more
• Google Scholar Compatible: Works alongside existing citation meta tags without conflicts
• Zero Performance Impact: No additional database queries; uses already-loaded OJS objects
• Cross-Theme Compatible: Works with all OJS themes

Installation

Method 1: Plugin Gallery (Recommended)

1. Login as Journal Manager
2. Navigate to Settings > Website > Plugins > Plugin Gallery
3. Search for "Scholarly Article Schema"
4. Click Install

Method 2: Manual Upload

1. Download the latest schemaOrg-ojs3.3-<version>.tar.gz from releases
2. Login as Journal Manager
3. Navigate to Settings > Website > Plugins > Upload a New Plugin
4. Upload the tar.gz file
5. Click Save

Method 3: Server Installation

cd plugins/generic
tar -xzf schemaOrg-ojs3.3-1.0.3.1.tar.gz
chown -R www-data:www-data schemaOrg
chmod -R 755 schemaOrg

Configuration

1. Navigate to Settings > Website > Plugins > Installed Plugins
2. Find Scholarly Article Schema Plugin and enable it
3. Click Settings (gear icon)
4. Select your Schema Type:
   • ScholarlyArticle (default): For general academic journals
   • MedicalScholarlyArticle: For medical and health science journals only
5. Click OK to save

What Gets Included

The plugin automatically extracts and includes the following metadata when available:

Core Fields

• @type: ScholarlyArticle or MedicalScholarlyArticle
• headline: Article title (publication locale)
• description: Abstract (HTML stripped, publication locale)
• url: Article landing page URL
• datePublished: Publication date

Author Information

• author: Array of Person objects with:
  • name, givenName, familyName
  • affiliation (Organization)
  • sameAs (ORCID URL)

Identifiers

• identifier: DOI as PropertyValue
• sameAs: DOI URL (https://doi.org/...)

Publication Context

• publisher: Publisher institution if set; otherwise journal name
• isPartOf: Nested structure of Periodical > PublicationVolume > PublicationIssue
• pagination: Page numbers
• keywords: Array of keywords (publication locale)
• inLanguage: Publication language
• license: License URL

Journal Information

• issn: Online or print ISSN
• volumeNumber: Volume number
• issueNumber: Issue number

Google Scholar Compatibility

This plugin does not interfere with Google Scholar indexing:

• Uses separate JSON-LD format (not meta tags)
• Inserted via additionalHeadData / addHeader
• Google Scholar continues to read citation_* meta tags
• Schema.org data provides additional semantic context

Technical Details

• Hook Used: TemplateManager::display
• Performance: Zero additional database queries
• Output Format: JSON-LD in <script type="application/ld+json">
• Injection Point: <head> section of article pages only
• Template Detection: Matches article.tpl across all themes
• Encoding: UTF-8 with JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE, JSON_HEX_TAG, JSON_HEX_AMP

Testing & Validation

After installation, validate your Schema.org output:

1. Google Rich Results Test https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

2. Schema.org Validator https://validator.schema.org/

3. View Source Right-click article page > View Page Source > Search for application/ld+json

Support & Development

• Developer: Kerim Sarıgül
• Website: https://ojsservices.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/ojs-services/ojs-schema-org
• Email: info@ojsservices.com

License

GPL v3 - See LICENSE file for details