Literature Mapping Tools

You will usually begin with a relevant paper, sometimes called a seed paper, or a small collection of papers.

The tool then suggests other papers using relationships such as:

• references cited by the starting paper
• later papers that cite it
• similarities between papers
• shared authors or research topics
• connections within a citation network

Different tools construct and display these relationships in different ways. Check what the lines, positions, colours and rankings on a map represent.

A close connection on a map does not necessarily mean that two papers reach the same conclusion. A prominent or highly cited paper is not automatically reliable or suitable for your work.

A literature mapping tool may help when you want to:

• explore research related to a useful paper you have already found
• follow research backwards to earlier work or forwards to more recent work
• identify influential papers or authors associated with a topic
• see connections between different areas of research
• develop terminology and keywords for further searching
• follow the development of a research area over time
• monitor a developing topic for new publications

They are particularly useful for exploratory and extended research. For a shorter undergraduate assignment, your reading list, LibrarySearch and the databases recommended for your subject may provide everything you need.

The following are examples of external literature mapping services. Abertay does not require you to use them. Features, account requirements and usage limits may change, so check the provider’s website before registering.

ResearchRabbit

ResearchRabbit lets you organise papers into collections and explore recommendations and interactive maps. It can show connections between papers, authors and research concepts.

It may be useful when you want to develop a collection of literature gradually and follow several possible connections from papers you have already selected.

Connected Papers

Connected Papers builds a visual graph around a paper you already know. It is designed to help you find similar papers and explore earlier or later work connected with the topic.

It may be useful for getting a quick visual overview of the literature surrounding a particular paper. The papers placed closest together are not necessarily connected by direct citations, so check how the graph has been constructed.

Litmaps

Litmaps uses references and citations to help you discover and map related papers. It also provides features for organising and annotating papers and monitoring a topic for new publications.

It may be useful for a longer project in which you want to develop and revisit a map of the literature over time.

A literature map is a route to possible sources, not a substitute for searching, reading and evaluating them.

1. Start with a paper that you have good reason to consider relevant. You might find it through your reading list, LibrarySearch or a specialist database.
2. Where possible, use more than one starting paper. Relying on a single paper can narrow the results to one perspective or research community.
3. Check what relationships the map represents and how the tool generates its recommendations.
4. Open promising results and read the original publications. Do not judge a source from its position on a map or from bibliographic information alone.
5. Use LibrarySearch to look for the paper and available full text, whether provided through Abertay or openly available.
6. Evaluate each source for its relevance, authority, evidence and suitability for your task.
7. Use useful terminology, authors and references from the papers to continue searching in LibrarySearch or relevant subject databases.

If you are conducting a structured literature review, record the tool, date, starting papers and steps you used. Follow the search method required by your programme, supervisor or review protocol.

Learn more about developing and recording a search and using citation chaining.

Literature mapping tools do not search all published research. Their results depend on the publications and citation information included in their underlying data.

This means that:

• coverage can vary between subjects and types of publication
• books, chapters, professional literature and some newer publications may be less visible
• recent papers may not yet have accumulated citations
• results are influenced by the papers you choose as starting points
• prominent, frequently cited or closely connected papers are not necessarily the most reliable
• recommendations and maps may change as the service and its data change
• the tool may provide a record of a paper without access to its full text

Mapping tools can suggest areas that deserve further investigation, but they cannot establish that no other research exists. They should not be used on their own to claim that a search is comprehensive or that a research gap has been proven.

For systematic, scoping or other evidence reviews, follow the required review methodology and use appropriate databases and documented searches.

Literature mapping tools are mainly relationship-led. You normally begin with papers and explore the connections between them.

Generative AI research assistants are more commonly question-led. They may search for papers and then generate summaries, comparisons, answers or tables based on the results.

Some services now combine elements of both, but the distinction remains useful:

• use a literature mapping tool to explore connections and develop a network of papers
• use a research assistant to investigate a question or analyse information drawn from papers

Neither type of tool removes the need to locate, read and evaluate the original sources.

Learn more about generative AI research assistants.

Before creating an account or connecting another service, such as a reference manager, check the provider’s current privacy information and terms.

Do not enter unpublished research, confidential information, identifiable participant data or other sensitive material into an external tool.