Citation Maps from Web of Science

This is a description of the Web of Science: Citation Databases from Thomson Reuters citation visualisation tool called the 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 then choose to organize and color code the results by author, year, journal title, subject category, and more.

Creating a citation map

From a Full Record page, click the citation map link to go to the citation map start page where you can begin to 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 cite or are 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 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.

You can move the nodes around (including the target node) by clicking and dragging them using your left mouse key. 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 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 also 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 contains all of the records covered by the citation map you are currently viewing.

• The right arrow means the record is a citing article.
• The left arrow means the record is a cited reference.

The check box for the target record is always selected when the citation map initially displays.

• Click the Primary Author link to sort the list of records alphabetically by author name from A to Z or click again to sort the names from Z to A.
• Click the Article Tile link to sort the list of records alphabetically by article title from A to Z or click again to sort the titles from Z to A.

Use the check box to select one or more nodes - a red border appears around each selected node in the citation map. Choose Set Node Color from the Appearance menu to change the color of each selected node in the citation map.

The Select All check box in the column header allows you to select all records in the panel.

Use the standard page navigation arrows to move from page to page in the panel.

Use the standard Display menu to choose to display 10, 20, 50, or 100 records in the panel.

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 map, you can view Full Record details about that record 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.

Manage menu

The Manage menu allows you to create a new citation map and to save a citation map as an editable image.

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 map 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, notes, or resize your image.

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

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 Order Nodes By 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 Color Code By menu, you can view, by color, records that were all published in the same year.

Color Code By Menu

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 Set Node Text menu, you can view the author's name in each node.

Set Node Text Menu

Print

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.

Year range

After you create a citation map, use the Year Range feature to set upper and lower year ranges. Drag and release the left and right arrows to adjust the year range. For example, you can set the year range to view records published from 1995 to 2005.

Click the Limit button to redraw the citation map to show only those records that fall within the selected year range. After you redraw the map, the Results Set panel will list only those records shown in the redrawn citation map including the target record. The Record View panel continues to show the target record.

Note that you cannot adjust the year range beyond the date of the target record.

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.

Example - citation patterns by publish year

This example shows you the citing and cited relationships by Publish Year. It provides a visual view of changes in citation patterns over time.

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. Records display the name of the author.
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.

Other reasons for creating a citation map

• To see the impact of a paper over diverse multidisciplinary subject fields, select Subject Category in steps 2, 3, and 4.
• To see how widespread a paper has been distributed and read, select Country in steps 2, 3, and 4.
• To see which institutions cited and were cited by the target paper, select Institution in steps 2, 3, and 4.