Do I need an account to create a citation map?

No. Citation Map is free and does not require registration. You only need to sign in if you want to claim your profile and add custom affiliations or links.

How long does it take to generate a citation map?

For most authors with fewer than 500 papers, the map renders in 2–4 seconds. Very large profiles (1,000+ publications) may take up to 10 seconds on first load, then are cached for instant replay.

How do I use Google Scholar to create a citation map?

Citation Map uses Google Scholar as its data source automatically. You do not need to interact with any API directly. Search your name on citationmap.com — we resolve it to your Google Scholar author record, pull your citing institutions, and render the geographic map within seconds. If you already know your Google Scholar ID (the string after user= in your profile URL, e.g., JicYPdAAAAAJ), you can paste it directly for instant disambiguation.

Why are some of my papers missing?

Citation Map pulls data from Google Scholar. If a publication is very recent or from a venue that Google Scholar has not yet indexed, it may be missing. You can check coverage on scholar.google.com — once a paper appears there, it will show up in your citation map on the next refresh.

Can I export the underlying data, not just an image?

Yes. Use 'Export CSV' to download the full list of citing institutions with country, latitude/longitude, and per-paper citation counts. The CSV is ready to open in Excel, Google Sheets, or import into R or Python.

Can I use this tool to build a literature review map?

Yes. Run citation maps for 3–5 seed authors who define your research topic, then compare the geographic patterns across maps. The combined picture is effectively a literature review map — showing which countries and institutions engage with an entire subfield. See our dedicated guide on using Citation Map for literature reviews for step-by-step workflows.

How to Create a Citation Map in 5 Steps (Free)

Short answer: Go to citationmap.com, search your name, click the correct Google Scholar profile, and your geographic citation map renders in 2–4 seconds. From there you can export a 2048×1024 PNG or copy an <iframe> embed. The whole process takes about 90 seconds and is free.

What is a citation map and why does it matter?

A citation map is a geographic visualization of every institution that has cited your research. Unlike a citation network (which shows paper-to-paper links), a citation map plots where in the world your work has influenced scholarship. For US visa petitions — specifically O-1A, EB-1A, and EB-2 NIW — this geographic footprint is directly tied to the regulatory phrase “sustained international acclaim.” For grant applications, it substantiates claims of broader impact. For tenure files, it shows reach beyond the home institution. Researchers also use the same technique to build a literature review map — mapping citation patterns across a set of seed authors to scope an entire subfield geographically.

How to Create a Citation Map Using Google Scholar

Citation Map is built on Google Scholar, the world's largest academic search index, updated continuously and free to use without a subscription. Here is the core flow:

Find your Google Scholar ID. Your Scholar profile URL contains it after user= (e.g., user=JicYPdAAAAAJ). You can paste either the full profile URL or just the ID — or simply search by name and Citation Map will resolve it for you.
Paste into citationmap.com. Type or paste the ID into the search box on the homepage. Autocomplete shows matched profiles ranked by h-index within 300ms.
Wait approximately 10 seconds. We pull your publications and citing institutions from Google Scholar, resolve each citing institution to geographic coordinates, and render the interactive world map. Most profiles load in 2–4 seconds; very large profiles (1,000+ papers) may take up to 10 seconds on first load, after which results are cached.
Share, embed, or export. Copy the shareable link, grab the <iframe> snippet for your personal site, or export a 2048×1024 PNG and a CSV of citing institutions — all free, no watermark.

The five detailed steps below expand each of these actions with screenshots and tips for edge cases.

Step 1: Search your name or Google Scholar ID

Search form on the homepage

Go to the homepage and type your full name (e.g., 'Geoffrey Hinton') or paste your Google Scholar profile URL. Autocomplete surfaces the top matches in under 300ms, ranked by h-index and recent citations. You don't need to register.

If you already know your Google Scholar ID (for example JicYPdAAAAAJ), pasting it skips disambiguation entirely. You can find your ID by visiting your profile on scholar.google.com — it's the string after user= in the URL. You can also paste the full Google Scholar profile URL.

Step 2: Verify the correct profile

Disambiguate authors by institution and h-index

Select the result matching your affiliation. Each row shows h-index, works count, and last institution — enough signal to distinguish authors who share a name. Google Scholar is updated continuously, so even recent papers appear.

Name collisions are common in computer science and biomedicine. Each search result shows the most recent affiliation, total citations, and h-index drawn from Google Scholar. If you see two plausible profiles (which happens when authors move institutions), pick the one with the matching works list — you can always navigate back.

Step 3: View your interactive world map

Interactive world map with per-country citation density

The map renders within 2–4 seconds. Each marker represents an institution that has cited your work; marker size is scaled logarithmically to citation count using D3. Zoom, pan, and hover for tooltips with institution names and citation totals per country.

Hover on a marker to see the institution, country, and citation count. You can filter by year range, co-author, or publication venue — useful when you want to show impact within a specific window (for example, a five-year tenure review). See Geoffrey Hinton's citation map as a reference for what a dense, long-career map looks like.

Step 4: Export a high-resolution PNG

Export options: PNG and CSV

Click 'Export PNG' to download a 2048×1024 image suitable for printing in a visa petition, tenure package, or grant proposal. CSV export of the underlying institution list is also available. All exports are watermark-free and free of charge.

Immigration attorneys typically include the PNG as Exhibit B or C in O-1A petition packages alongside a citation-count table. The CSV export is useful for custom charts, a statistician-ready dataset, or input to R / Python scripts for further analysis.

Step 5: Embed on your personal website

One-line iframe embed

Copy the provided <iframe> snippet and paste it into your personal site, lab page, or Notion wiki. The embedded map is interactive, auto-refreshes as Google Scholar indexes new citations, and loads asynchronously so it does not block your page's LCP.

The embed is a standard <iframe> with loading="lazy" and responsive sizing. It does not require JavaScript on your site and is compatible with GitHub Pages, WordPress, Notion embeds, and static-site generators such as Hugo, Jekyll, Astro, and Next.js. See the embed FAQ for full sizing options.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to create a citation map?: No. Citation Map is free and does not require registration. You only need to sign in if you want to claim your profile and add custom affiliations or links.
How long does it take to generate a citation map?: For most authors with fewer than 500 papers, the map renders in 2–4 seconds. Very large profiles (1,000+ publications) may take up to 10 seconds on first load, then are cached for instant replay.
How do I use Google Scholar to create a citation map?: Citation Map uses Google Scholar as its data source automatically. You do not need to interact with any API directly. Search your name on citationmap.com — we resolve it to your Google Scholar author record, pull your citing institutions, and render the geographic map within seconds. If you already know your Google Scholar ID (the string after user= in your profile URL, e.g., JicYPdAAAAAJ), you can paste it directly for instant disambiguation.
Why are some of my papers missing?: Citation Map pulls data from Google Scholar. If a publication is very recent or from a venue that Google Scholar has not yet indexed, it may be missing. You can check coverage on scholar.google.com — once a paper appears there, it will show up in your citation map on the next refresh.
Can I export the underlying data, not just an image?: Yes. Use 'Export CSV' to download the full list of citing institutions with country, latitude/longitude, and per-paper citation counts. The CSV is ready to open in Excel, Google Sheets, or import into R or Python.
Can I use this tool to build a literature review map?: Yes. Run citation maps for 3–5 seed authors who define your research topic, then compare the geographic patterns across maps. The combined picture is effectively a literature review map — showing which countries and institutions engage with an entire subfield. See our dedicated guide on using Citation Map for literature reviews for step-by-step workflows.

Next steps

Once you have your map, decide how you want to use it. For academic portfolios, embed it on your personal site. For tenure, export the PNG and include a one-paragraph interpretation. For visa petitions, read our guide on using citation maps as O-1A / EB-1A evidence. If you're writing a thesis or systematic review, see how to turn multiple author maps into a full literature review map. If you're choosing between tools, compare Citation Map vs Connected Papers.