Web of Science Help

Web of Science

Citation Map

A Citation Map is a graphical representation that shows the citation relationships (cited references and citing articles) between a paper and other papers using various visualization tools and techniques.

Using citation mapping, you can analyze which researchers are citing your papers. You can also choose to organize and color code the results by author, year, journal title, subject category, and more.

You can also set up a graphical representation of the papers that you have cited in a published work. You can also choose to organize and color code the results by author, year, journal title, subject category, and more.

Creating a Citation Map

From the Full Record page, click the Citation Map link to go to the Citation Map start page where you can create your Citation Map.

1. Select a Direction

Forward Only: View records that cite the selected target (focus) record whose name appears in the title bar at the top of the page.

Backward Only: View records that the target record cites.

Forward and Backward: View both forward and backward records.

2. Select a Generation

First Generation - Records that directly cite or are directly cited by the target record are first generation. The default generation is set at 1.

Second Generation - Records citing records that cite the target record and records cited by records cited by the targeted record are second generation.

3. Click the Create Button to Create Your Citation Map

After you create your Citation Map, the target record is shown in the middle of the Citation Map panel.

To the right of the target record are papers that cite the original paper (citing articles). This is the forward view.

To the left of the target record are papers that are cited by the target record (cited references). This is the backward view.

Citation map with foward and backward views

Citation Map with Forward and Backward Views

Citation Map Panels

The Citation Map is generated and displayed in a three-panel window.

· The top panel (Citation Map) is an interactive graphical presentation of the Citation Map consisting of a citation tree of nodes (records) showing their citation relationships.

· The lower left panel (Results Set) displays a summary of cited and citing records in the Citation Map along with the Primary Author, Journal Name, and Article Title.

· The lower right panel (Record View) displays the Full Record of the target record.

Above the Citation Map are menus and options that allow to manage and control of the appearance of the Citation Map.

View of Citation Map, Results Set, and Record View panels

View of Citation Map, Results Set, and Record View Panels

You can move the nodes around (including the target node) by clicking and dragging them using your mouse. This feature allows you to see parts of the map that are on the edge of the panel. This dragging action also brings the centered-map section into a fish-eye-lens-like view so you can see the individual nodes more clearly.

By hovering your cursor on any node, you can view bibliographic information about that paper.

A white expand / collapse button displays in the bottom-right corner of the target node if there are citations for that record. Click to expand or collapse the display. You can find these buttons on the back and fwd nodes.

Results Set and Record View Panels

The lower portion of the Citation Map window contains a Results Set panel (lower left) and a Record View panel (lower right).

A close control icon above the Results Set panel allows you to close the Results Set and Record View panels and view the Citation Map in full screen mode.

An open control icon allows you to reopen the Results Set and Record View panels and view record data.

Results Set Panel

The Results Set panel shows how the data in the panel looks for records in Web of Science.

The panel contains all of the records covered by the Citation Map you are viewing. The arrow icon indicates whether the record is a forward or backward citation. The default sort for the list is target record first and the remainder sorted by publication number in ascending order. You can re-sort the list.

Use the check box to select a node to highlight it in red. You can also select a record and choose Set Node Color from the Appearance menu to change the color of one or more of the nodes in your map. The check box in the column header allows you to select all records on the page.

Use the standard page navigation arrows to move from page to page in the Results Set.

Use the standard Display menu to choose to display 10, 20, 50, 100 records per page.

Record View Panel

The Record View panel displays field data for records in Web of Science. The Number / Title of a record is linked to the Full Record in Web of Science.

By selecting and double-clicking any node in the citation tree, you can view Full Record details in the Record View panel.

Note the following:

· If no Author is available but a Group Author is available, then we provide the Group Author label.

· If no Group Author is available but an Author is available, then we provide the Author label.

· We only display a field label if data is present.

Manage Menu

The Manage menu allows you to create a new Citation Map, save a Citation Map as an editable image, and refresh the data in all three panels.

Create New Citation Map

This options allows you to create a new Citation Map for a selected node that appears on the citation tree and in the Results Set panel.

1.       Select the check box next to the new target record. The node in the citation tree is highlighted.

2.       Select Create New Citation Map from the Manage menu. This opens a new browser window and displays the Citation Map start page.

3.       Select the direction and generation depth on the Citation Mapping start page.

4.       Click Create to display the new Citation Map.

Save Citation Map As Image

This option allows you to save your Citation Map as an independent image. The default format for saving the image file is PNG (Portable Network Graphics).

After you select this option, you can open the image or save the image to a folder on your computer. During this process, you can change the file format to another format such as GIF or BMP by replacing the PNG file extension after the file name.

If you have a graphics tool (for example, Macromedia Fireworks), you can modify your graphics image. For example, you can add text or resize your image.

Before using this option, check to ensure that Pop-up Blocker is turned off with your browser.

Refresh

This option allows you to update citation information on your map. When you refresh a Citation Map, we provide the most current collection of citation records related to your search.

Edit

The Edit option allows you to change the direction of your Citation Map and the number of generations that appear. When you select Edit, the Citation Map start page appears for the current target record.

Appearance Menu

The Appearance menu allows you to order, color-code, and label citation tree nodes according to various record fields.

Order Nodes By

This option allows you to select a field by which to sort the nodes. Each node in a node grouping is sorted by the selected field alphabetically / numerically.

For example, by selecting Publish Year from the menu, you can group records that were published in the same year.

Order Nodes By Menu

Color Code By

This option allows you to assign colors to nodes according to their record properties. That is, you can select a field to which to apply colors. This process takes the top 20 occurring data values and assigns them one of the 20 node colors (see Set Node Color). Any node that is not within the top 20 values remains black.

For example, by selecting Publish Year from the menu, you can view, by color, records that were all published in the same year.

Color Code By Menu

1. Follow steps 1 - 3 in the section called Creating a Citation Map.

2. Select Publish Year from the Order Nodes By menu. The nodes shift positions and are now in chronological order.

3. Select Publish Year from the Color Code By menu. Records published in the same year all have the same color.

4. Select Author from the Set Node Text menu.

5. Click the close control icon to close the Results Set and Record View panels so that you can have a better view of your Citation Map.

Citation map organized and color coded by publish year

Citation Map Organized and Color Coded by Publish Year

Set Node Color

This option allows you to apply color to selected nodes on the Citation Map.

1.       Select the check box of each needed record that appears in the Results Set panel

2.       Select Set Node Color to display a 20-color palette.

3.       Click a color to assign that color to the selected nodes and to close the color palette.

Set Node Color Palette

If you decide to color the nodes by Publish Year (or another option), you may get a different view - the selected Color Code By field takes precedence.

Set Node Text

This option allows you to select the field information that you wish to display in the nodes in the Citation Map.

For example, by selecting Author from the menu, you can view the author's name in each node.

Set Node Text Menu

The Print button opens a pop-up browser window that displays the Citation Map image. Click the Print link in the top right corner to print the image.

Quick Change Buttons

These buttons help you quickly reconfigure your Citation Map.

Expand: Allows you to expand the space around the node on which the Citation Map is currently centered.

Contract: Allows you to collapse the space around the node on which the Citation Map is currently centered. Contracting is a good way to quickly see color relationships.

Center Root Document: Allows you to re-center the Citation Map on the original target node.

Create New Citation Map: Allows you to create a new map exactly as you would from the Manage menu.

Information About ...

Citation Map Panels
Results Set and Record View Panels
Results Set Panel
Record View Panel
Manage Menu
Edit
Appearance Menu
Print
Quick Change Buttons

System Requirements
Installing Java

To create and view Citation Maps, you must install the most current version of the Java runtime environment and the necessary browser plug-in.

To install the most recent current version of Java and the associated plug-in, click Free Java Download

More About Generations

A paper's cited references and citing articles are referred to as the first generation of cited and citing papers. Each of those cited papers may have cited references of their own and each of the citing articles may have citing articles of its own. This second level of papers is referred to as the second generation.

This help page last modified 5/29/2008