Litmaps

Freemium

litmaps.com

Literature review software visualizing research citation networks on chronological axes to track scientific breakthroughs.

About Litmaps

Litmaps is an academic literature review and citation visualization platform designed to help scientists, researchers, and students master their research domains. By mapping scientific papers on a chronological timeline alongside citation counts, Litmaps provides clear visual insight into how scientific ideas originated, developed over time, and branched into modern sub-disciplines.

The platform allows researchers to build interactive 'Litmaps' (literature maps) that visualize connections between foundational papers and contemporary breakthroughs. Litmaps includes Litmaps Monitor, an automated literature alert system that continuously scans global publishing databases to notify researchers whenever a new paper cites their collection or builds upon their specific topic.

Litmaps runs as an intuitive browser-based application with direct import options for BibTeX, RIS, and reference managers including Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley. It provides a free tier for individual researchers with core mapping tools alongside Litmaps Pro subscriptions with automated monitoring and unlimited maps.

Key Features

Core capabilities and technical highlights of Litmaps

Chronological citation mapping plotting publication dates against citation counts on an intuitive two-axis canvas.

Litmaps Monitor automated alerting system continuously scanning global academic repositories for relevant papers.

Seed Paper discovery finding overlooked papers connected through multi-degree citation relationships.

Universal reference manager compatibility importing and exporting RIS, BibTeX, and DOI lists seamlessly.

Popular Use Cases

How teams, developers, and creators get value from Litmaps

1Plot research literature across a chronological timeline to track the historical development of scientific theories.

2Monitor your master's or PhD thesis bibliography automatically to receive alerts when new relevant papers are published.

3Identify overlooked citation links and landmark studies within a domain before submitting academic papers for review.

4Share interactive, interactive literature review maps with academic co-authors and thesis advisory committees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions and answers regarding Litmaps

Is Litmaps free to use?

Yes, Litmaps offers a free plan with basic literature mapping tools, while Litmaps Pro provides automated paper monitoring alerts and unlimited saved maps.

What is a Litmap?

A Litmap is a visual graph where research articles are plotted on a timeline with citation links showing which papers influenced each other.

What is Litmaps Monitor?

Litmaps Monitor is a background tracking service that alerts you whenever a newly published article cites any paper in your monitored literature collection.

Can I import references from Zotero or EndNote?

Yes, Litmaps supports importing libraries directly via RIS, BibTeX files, or by pasting lists of DOIs.

Does Litmaps work for all scientific fields?

Yes, Litmaps indexes hundreds of millions of articles across biomedicine, physical sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.