CiteSpace generates interactive visualizations of structural and temporal patterns and trends of a scientific field. It facilitates a systematic review of a knowledge domain through an in-depth visual analytic process. CiteSpace can process citation data from popular sources such as the Web of Science, Scopus, and Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI). CiteSpace supports citation-based studies using open-access sources such as Dimensions and CrossRef. CiteSpace also supports a smaller set of visual analytic functions for datasets without citation-related information, for example, PubMed, CNKI, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. In essence, CiteSpace reveals how a field of research has evolved, what intellectual turning points are evident along a critical path, and what topics have attracted attention. CiteSpace can be applied repeatedly so as to track the development of a field closely and extensively.
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