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What you'll accomplish

By the end of this guide, you'll have a visual map of the citation network around your research topic — showing how papers connect, who the key authors are, and which clusters of work you might have missed. Instead of discovering related papers by accident years into a project, you'll see the landscape of your field in one view.

What you'll need

  • A free ResearchRabbit account at researchrabbit.ai
  • 1–3 seed papers you already know are central to your topic (or their DOIs)
  • Time needed: 30 minutes for your first map; 10 minutes to explore new maps
  • Cost: Free (ResearchRabbit is free for academics)

How-To Guide: Map Your Research Field Visually with ResearchRabbit

Step 1: Create your account

Go to researchrabbit.ai in your browser. Click Sign Up. Use your university email for the best experience. Verify your email when prompted.

What you should see: A clean dashboard with a search bar and a "Create Collection" button.