What is AI Research Tracer?

The Research Tracer starts from one seed paper and bidirectionally traces its citation network — backward to seminal references and forward to follow-up work — up to 5 hops. The output is a visualized lineage with AI-identified inflection points that explain why a paper shifted the field.

When should you use the Research Tracer?

Use it when you're new to a field and need the big picture fast, or when writing a deep literature review that needs to show why a field developed the way it did — not just list recent papers. Start from one paper and trace the lineage in minutes instead of days.

How is this different from Connected Papers or ResearchRabbit?

Connected Papers focuses on visualization; ResearchRabbit on discovery. The Research Tracer adds AI interpretation — beyond drawing the graph, it identifies which papers are inflection points and explains why. Citation network + AI explanation, combined.

How deep can it trace?

3 hops by default (seed → references → references-of-references), expandable up to 5. Going deeper adds noise more than insight, so we cap visualization at the most informative hop range.

How are "inflection point" papers identified?

We combine citation count, network centrality, and shifts in subsequent research direction. It's not just about high citation count — it's about identifying papers that changed the trajectory of research, then explaining the paradigm shift in plain language.