Tutorial · 4 min
How to use Citation Explorer
Walk the citation graph around a key paper
Start from a seed paper and move through its references, the work citing it and related studies to map a field quickly.
Before you start
- • A signed-in SciExpert account
Steps
- 1
Open Citation Explorer
From the workspace sidebar choose Citation Explorer. On a phone, open the All menu and tap Citation Explorer.
- 2
Set up your inputs
Start from a seed paper and move through its references, the work citing it and related studies to map a field quickly. Start with the smallest realistic input so you can check the output before scaling up.
- 3
Run it
Run the tool and check the first output: references, citing works and related papers in one view.
- 4
Review what came back
Work through the results: jump to any paper and make it the new seed; save anything you find into your library; powered by live openalex relationships.
- 5
Save or export
Save the configuration as a preset if you will repeat it, and export the output when you need it outside SciExpert. Your inputs persist across refreshes and sign-ins.
Tips
- • Start with a small input, verify the output, then scale up.
- • Save a preset once the configuration works so you can reuse it across papers.
Troubleshooting
Nothing happens when I run it
Check that every required field is filled and that your plan includes this service — locked services show a padlock in the sidebar.
The output is not what I expected
Reduce the input to a single item, confirm the result is correct, then add the rest back gradually.

