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Building a map

In short: After you choose a map from a question, the Query Bank or Expert Mode, SciNodes builds it and opens it on the stage. Small maps appear almost at once. Large maps build in steps (Preparing corpus, Detecting clusters, Laying out map, Building map, Finalizing map) and appear bit by bit. You can keep working while a map builds. Click Cancel to stop a build; the partial map is deleted completely.

What you see while a map builds​

SituationWhat appears
Small map"Generating map" with "Connecting Dots", then the map.
Large map, before any nodes arriveThe current step, a progress bar, a node count such as "12,288 / 61,440 nodes" and a Cancel button. Before counts are known it says "This is a large map — first nodes appear shortly".
Large map, nodes arrivingThe map grows on the stage. A thin strip at the top shows the step, the count and Cancel.
Opening a saved map"Rebuilding map" while it loads.
In the gallery and the map listA building badge on the map.

Cluster names appear a moment after the map does. Until then clusters may show numbered names.

Steps of a large build​

  1. Preparing corpus: SciNodes gathers the publications the map uses (the whole corpus or your corpus slice).
  2. Detecting clusters: groups closely linked nodes. See Expert Mode for the settings.
  3. Laying out map: positions the nodes.
  4. Building map: sends nodes and edges to your screen in batches.
  5. Finalizing map: saves the finished map.

Keep working while it builds​

  • Switch to another map or tab whenever you like. The build carries on; only Cancel stops it.
  • Come back to the map from the gallery or the map list in the left sidebar to see its progress or the finished map.
  • Some actions wait until the build finishes. Excluding and merging nodes say "Available once the map finishes building". Weightage says "Available once the map finishes saving". Renaming says "Still building — rename it once it finishes", and the Save this map button appears only once the build has finished.

Cancel a build​

  1. Open the building map.
  2. Click Cancel in the progress overlay or in the strip at the top.

The partial map is removed from the project. If SciNodes can't cancel in time you see "Could not cancel the map build." and the build continues to its end.

Very large maps​

For very large maps SciNodes first shows the best-connected part of the map and says so, for example "Showing the 65,536 most connected of 210,000 nodes".

  • Click Load more to bring in more nodes.
  • To see more of one cluster, click it and choose Expand this cluster.

Large maps need more memory. See System requirements.

Your project's first map​

Every new project builds an Initial Map automatically: a Term Co-occurrence map drawn from titles, author keywords and index keywords. It is saved for you. Later maps start as drafts. See Drafts and saving maps.

Troubleshooting​

  • "Map build failed" with a reason such as "Map generation failed." Click Retry to build again with the same settings, or Discard to remove it. If some nodes had already arrived, the map stays greyed out with a banner offering the same buttons. Locked actions say "Not available on a failed map build".
  • "Nothing to map" on the stage, or a "No … to build" dialog. The corpus doesn't hold what this map type needs, or a filter or threshold removed everything. This is not an error. See Empty maps and reference data.
  • "Fetching reference data" dialog. A citation, co-citation or bibliographic coupling map can't start while reference data is still being fetched. Wait for the fetch to finish, then build again. See Empty maps and reference data.
  • "Your drafts are full" before the build starts. See Drafts and saving maps.
  • "Map not stored" notification: "This map could not be stored on the server. It is still on screen, but it will not be in your maps list — plot it again to keep it." Plot the map again.
  • "Something went wrong" with a message. The request failed. Try again in a moment.
  • "Couldn't load research maps" in the gallery. Click Try again. SciNodes also retries by itself ("Retrying automatically in Ns…").
  • "Failed to load the map." A saved large map couldn't load. Reopen it from the gallery.
  • "Could not load more of the map." or "Could not expand the cluster." Try again in a moment.

FAQ​

How long does a map take to build?​

Small and medium maps usually appear within seconds. Very large corpora take longer and show step-by-step progress. You can keep working meanwhile.

Does closing the map stop the build?​

No. Switching maps, tabs or projects doesn't stop it. Only Cancel does.

What does Cancel delete?​

Only the map being built. Your corpus, your other maps and any notes are not affected.

Why does my large map show only some nodes?​

For very large maps SciNodes opens the best-connected nodes first so the map stays responsive. Use Load more or Expand this cluster to see more.