Selecting, merging and excluding nodes
In short: Click a node or edge to see its details in the right-hand panel. Ctrl + Click (Cmd + Click on Mac) selects several. On keyword and term maps you can merge two nodes that mean the same thing: select one, click Merge at the bottom of the left sidebar, then click the other. To take a node or edge off a map, select it and click Delete, or right-click a node and choose Remove, then confirm Exclude. Use the Undo button in the left sidebar if you change your mind.
Select a node or edge
- Open a map.
- Click a node or an edge. The right-hand panel shows its details.
- Click empty space on the map to go back to the map overview.
The panel shows the item's type in brackets (for example "[Author]") and its name. For a publication node, click the name to open the project's Library in a new browser tab. Below that you'll find:
- RIF it: add it to Research in Formation.
- Save author or Save venue on author and venue nodes. See Saved authors and venues.
- Lists that depend on the map type, described below. Click any publication in a list to open its details.
- Write Note (or Open Note) and Chat about this item (or Continue chat) at the bottom.
When a node is selected, the bottom of the left sidebar shows its cluster and three buttons: Highlight Cluster, Merge (keyword and term maps only) and Delete.
What the details show
| Selected | Lists and figures |
|---|---|
| Co-authorship node | Co-authors (or Co-authorships for organizations and countries), Publications |
| Citation map, publication node | Cited publications, Cited by |
| Citation map, author, venue, organization or country node | Citation links, Publications, Cited publications, Cited by |
| Co-citation node | Cited by |
| Bibliographic coupling node | Couplings |
| Keyword or term node | Publications, Metrics, Definition |
| Citation edge | Who cites whom, Citation gap, Shared cited publications, Co-citations |
| Co-citation edge | Co-citing publications |
| Bibliographic coupling edge | Shared cited publications |
| Co-authorship edge | Shared publications |
| Keyword or term edge | Publications, Co-occurrences, Mean Year |
On publication nodes, Cited publications and Cited by show two numbers: the total known in the catalog, and the number in your corpus beside it.
Select several items
- Hold
Ctrl(Cmdon Mac) and click nodes or edges. Click again to remove one. - The panel shows "[Selection] N selected" with the list.
- Click Clear selection to finish.
See a term's definition
On keyword and term maps, select a node and expand Definition. A badge says In this project (the term is read in your project's sense) or General. If your explainer language isn't English, switch between EN and your language. Definitions are an AI feature and use your weekly credits. Set the language in Preferences.
Add cited or citing publications to your corpus
Publication nodes on Citation and Co-citation maps can pull missing publications into your corpus.
- Select a publication node.
- Expand Cited publications or Cited by.
- Click Add N cited publications to corpus (Citation maps) or Add N citing publications to corpus (Citation and Co-citation maps). For very large numbers it reads "Add top N of M …".
- Wait while it shows "Adding publications…", then "Linking references…" and "Updating map…". Click Stop to end early.
This is corpus expansion, so it uses your weekly credits. The open map updates in place where possible.
Merge two nodes
Merging works on Keyword Co-occurrence and Term Co-occurrence maps, for synonyms, abbreviations or singular and plural forms. To merge author name variants, build a co-authorship map with Merge name variants turned on in Expert Mode.
- Select the node you want to keep.
- Click Merge at the bottom of the left sidebar. A banner says "Merging name — pick the term to fold into it".
- Click the second node.
- In "Merge these two terms?", choose a name chip or type your own.
- Click Merge. You see "Merged into “name”." and the node's details say "Merged — also counts" followed by the merged names.
Publications that mention both terms are counted once. To leave merge mode without merging, press Esc, click empty space, or click Merge again.
Exclude a node or edge
- Select the node or edge, then click Delete at the bottom of the left sidebar. Or right-click a node and click Remove.
- In "Are you sure you want to exclude this data point?", click Exclude.
The item and its edges are removed from this map. Your corpus is not changed. To bring it back, click Undo in the left sidebar; its tooltip names the action, for example "Undo deleting …".
Right-click menus
- Node: shows the node's name and a Remove button.
- Edge: names the link and its two ends.
- Empty space: describes the map type.
Troubleshooting
- Merge or Delete is greyed out: "Available once the map finishes building" or "This map is still being saved — merging opens in a moment." Wait until the build finishes.
- "This map changed since you opened it — nothing was merged. Reopen it and pick the two again." Reopen the map and repeat the merge.
- "Couldn’t merge these two — nothing was changed. Please try again." Try again. Only the person who created a map can merge or exclude on it.
- "Couldn't delete the node. Your change was reverted — please try again." The exclusion didn't save. Try again.
- "Couldn't load a definition." Click Retry.
- "All of those publications are already in your corpus." Nothing was missing.
- "This publication has no upstream record to extend from." The publication isn't matched to the catalog, so SciNodes can't look up what it cites or what cites it.
- "Weekly complex compute budget spent." Your credits for the week are used up. See Credits and usage.
FAQ
Does excluding a node delete publications?
No. It only removes the node from this map. Publications stay in your corpus and other maps are unaffected.
Can I merge authors or publications?
No. Merging is only for keyword and term maps. For author spelling variants, use Merge name variants when you create a co-authorship map in Expert Mode.
Can collaborators exclude nodes on my map?
No. Only the person who created a map can merge or exclude on it.
How do I see all nodes in one cluster?
Select a node and click Highlight Cluster, or click the cluster in the Composition list. See Reading a map.