Open Knowledge Maps

Open Knowledge Maps is a revolutionary, non-profit discovery tool designed to dramatically increase the visibility and accessibility of scientific knowledge. As the world's largest visual search engine for research, it moves beyond traditional, linear lists of search results. Instead, it uses artificial intelligence to generate interactive knowledge maps that provide a topical overview of any research field. By connecting to massive databases like BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) and PubMed, it can search through over 270 million documents, offering a comprehensive starting point for any literature review.

The platform is operated by a charitable organization with a mission to create a public good, ensuring that the tool remains open, free from advertising, and community-driven. It is supported by a global network of universities, libraries, and research funders who believe in a more open and equitable system for scholarly communication. This collaborative approach ensures that Open Knowledge Maps continuously evolves to meet the real-world needs of researchers, students, and the public.

How to use Open Knowledge Maps

Using Open Knowledge Maps is an intuitive process designed to streamline literature discovery:

1. Start Your Search: Navigate to the Open Knowledge Maps homepage and enter a keyword, research topic, or author's name into the search bar.
2. Refine Your Query: Before generating the map, you can refine your search. Choose your data source (e.g., BASE for all disciplines or PubMed for life sciences), select a time frame, and filter by document type (such as articles, datasets, or software). You can also choose to see only open access results.
3. Generate the Map: Click the "Go" button. The AI will analyze the top 100 most relevant documents and organize them into a visual knowledge map.
4. Explore the Overview: The map displays bubbles representing different sub-topics. The size of each bubble often corresponds to the number of documents within that cluster. This visual layout helps you quickly grasp the main areas of a research field and their relationships.
5. Dive into Details: Click on any bubble to view a list of the documents clustered within that sub-topic. You can see titles, authors, and publication dates.
6. Access and Export: From the document list, you can preview PDFs directly in the interface (with open access papers being highlighted), generate citations in various formats (APA, MLA, Chicago), and export document information to your preferred reference manager.

Core Features of Open Knowledge Maps

• AI-Powered Knowledge Maps: The core feature is the ability to visualize search results as thematic maps, providing a "big picture" view of a research field and making it easy to spot key areas.
• Streamgraphs: A unique visualization that shows how research topics have evolved over time, allowing users to identify emerging trends and historical patterns.
• Multi-Source Integration: Searches across major academic databases like BASE and PubMed, providing comprehensive coverage across all disciplines.
• Advanced Filtering: Users can narrow down results by document type, date range, and open access status, tailoring the search to their specific needs.
• Open Access Focus: The platform actively highlights and prioritizes open access documents, providing direct links and in-browser previews whenever possible.
• Institutional Services (Custom Services): Libraries and universities can integrate Open Knowledge Maps' visual search capabilities into their own catalogs and repositories, enhancing the discovery experience for their users.
• VisConnect for Research Assessment: An AI-driven service that creates rich, visual profiles of researchers, supporting a more holistic and responsible approach to research evaluation beyond traditional metrics.
• Citation and Export Tools: Built-in features to easily generate citations and export metadata to reference management software, streamlining the research workflow.

Use Cases for Open Knowledge Maps

Open Knowledge Maps is a versatile tool for various users:

• Students and Researchers: Ideal for quickly getting up to speed on a new topic, conducting a literature review, identifying research gaps, or finding collaborators in related fields.
• Librarians and Educators: Can be used as a teaching tool to introduce students to literature searching and to provide a more engaging discovery interface for library patrons.
• Institutions and Funders: Can leverage Custom Services to increase the visibility of their research output and use VisConnect for more equitable and comprehensive research assessment processes.
• Journalists and the Public: Provides an accessible way to explore scientific topics, understand the key areas of research, and find relevant open access papers without navigating complex academic databases.

Advantages of Open Knowledge Maps

The platform offers significant advantages over traditional search engines:

• Intuitive Visual Discovery: Transforms abstract topics into tangible maps, making it easier to understand complex fields and the relationships between different areas of research.
• Overcomes Information Overload: The AI-driven clustering helps to separate relevant from irrelevant information, which is particularly useful for ambiguous search terms or interdisciplinary research.
• Identifies Relevant Concepts: By labeling the clusters with key terms, the tool helps newcomers learn the specific language and concepts of a research field.
• Commitment to Openness: As a non-profit, open-source platform, it offers a transparent, community-owned alternative to commercial discovery tools, free from lock-in effects.

Pricing and Plans

Open Knowledge Maps operates on a sustainable, community-supported model:

• Free for Individuals: The core visual search engine is completely free for all individual users, in line with its mission to provide a public good.
• Supporting Membership: The platform is sustained through financial contributions from institutions like universities, libraries, research funders, and publishers. These organizations become supporting members.
• Institutional Services: Supporting members gain access to exclusive features like the Custom Services and VisConnect, allowing them to tailor and integrate the technology into their own systems. Membership tiers (e.g., Sustaining, Visionary) are available to fit different organizational sizes and needs.