SotA Lens icon

Methodology

Exploratory citation-network mapping for state-of-the-art reviews

SotA Lens provides a reproducible way to inspect the structure of a broad scholarly landscape before a review is narrowed into a formal protocol.

1

Define seed fields

Start with broad search terms that capture the main field and neighbouring terminology.

2

Collect seed records

Import scholarly search results from CSV, including titles, authors, DOIs, years, and URLs.

3

Enrich references

Add reference DOI lists from available metadata sources or existing bibliographic exports.

4

Build the graph

Create a directed citation network where publications cite other publications.

5

Inspect structure

Analyse components, high-degree works, subject terms, author rankings, and communities.

6

Refine the review

Use the map to refine search terms, identify gaps, and design a more defensible screening protocol.

How it relates to PRISMA and scoping reviews

PRISMA-style reporting is strongest when the review question, databases, eligibility criteria, and screening process are already defined. SotA Lens is useful earlier, when the researcher is still learning the field structure.

The output is not an evidence claim. It is a map that supports better protocol design, better search-term selection, and more transparent explanation of why a review includes particular neighbouring areas.

Strengths

  • Reproducible corpus-to-graph pipeline.
  • Gephi-compatible exports.
  • Browser-based local file exploration.
  • Useful for broad, interdisciplinary fields.

Limitations

  • Metadata quality affects graph quality.
  • Author disambiguation is not solved automatically.
  • Clusters require expert interpretation.
  • Manual screening remains necessary.