What is Open Knowledge Maps?
Open Knowledge Maps is a visual discovery tool for scientific research, run by a non-profit charity that follows open science principles. You type in a topic and, instead of a long list of links, you get a knowledge map: the most relevant papers are clustered into themes, so you can see the main areas of a field at a glance and dive into the ones that matter to you.
It searches more than 400 million research outputs from over 11,000 sources, covering 25 content types such as articles, datasets and software in more than 400 languages. The clustering works only from the underlying metadata, and the software is open source on GitHub. Organisations can become supporting members or embed the maps in their own library systems, but searching is open to everyone, and the charity relies on donations and members to keep it running.
Main Features
- Turns a search into a visual map of research themes
- Searches 400M+ outputs from 11,000+ sources
- Covers articles, datasets, software and more
- Works across 400+ languages
- Open-source software from a non-profit
How to Get Started with Open Knowledge Maps
- Go to openknowledgemaps.org.
- Type a research topic into the search box and pick a data source.
- Wait for the map to build, then click a theme bubble.
- Open the listed papers to read or save them.
Open Knowledge Maps Pricing
Open Knowledge Maps is free to use for everyone. It is run by a non-profit and funded by donations and supporting member organisations; there is no paid plan for individual users.
Who Should Use It?
- Students starting a new research topic
- Researchers exploring an unfamiliar field
- Librarians teaching literature search
- Journalists looking for scientific sources
- Open science advocates
Open Knowledge Maps Alternatives
- ResearchRabbit: Literature discovery app that maps related papers and authors.
- Semantic Scholar: Free AI-powered search engine for scientific papers.
- Elicit: AI research assistant that finds papers and extracts key findings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Open Knowledge Maps free?
Yes. It is free for everyone. The non-profit behind it is funded by donations and supporting member organisations.
What does a knowledge map show?
It groups the most relevant results for your topic into themed clusters, so you can see the main research areas and the papers in each.
Is Open Knowledge Maps open source?
Yes. Its software is open source and hosted on GitHub.