> But this certainly requires an API defined at their end
Not certainly, screen scraping is always an option and which I guess is what the OP is looking for in this case given that it's a school project.
> it is difficult to find the information I need in the source code
As long as you don't abuse the service, XQuery and some other options can make your screen scraping a bit easier.
This involves a two step process:
The romantic image of an über-programmer is someone who fires up Emacs, types like a machine gun, and delivers a flawless final product from scratch. A more accurate image would be someone who stares quietly into space for a few minutes and then says “Hmm. I think I’ve seen something like this before.” - John D