Library Help: Office For Open Research

What are Smart Citations?

Smart Citations are an enhanced form of citation analysis developed by Scite.ai. Unlike traditional citation counts, Smart Citations provide context for how a research paper has been cited—showing whether subsequent work:

• Supports the original findings

• Contrasts or disputes them

• Simply Mentions them without evaluation

Scite uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to classify citations and includes short text snippets from the citing papers, offering deeper insights into the nature and intent of each citation.

This approach allows researchers to move beyond raw citation counts and better understand how a study has been engaged with across the scholarly community.

Why should I use Smart Citations?

Smart Citations offer a more nuanced view of research influence and can help:

• Provide deeper context
  Understand whether a study is widely supported, challenged, or simply referenced in later work.

• Improve literature reviews
  Prioritise key papers by identifying whether they align with or challenge your area of focus.

• Support responsible research evaluation
  See how your own research is being interpreted—whether cited positively, critically, or neutrally.

• Showcase research engagement
  Smart Citations offer examples of where your work has been built upon, tested, or debated—providing rich qualitative evidence for impact narratives or funding cases.

How can I access Smart Citations?

Smart Citations are available via the Scite platform, which is accessible through the University of Manchester Library.

1. Visit Scite: Access Scite using the link provided within Library Search and create an account if you don’t already have one.

2. Search for an Article: Use the search bar to find a specific paper by title, author, DOI, or keyword.

3. Explore Smart Citations: Once you find the article, you will see a summary of Smart Citations on the paper’s profile. This summary includes:

   • The total number of supporting, contrasting, and mentioning citations.

   • Excerpts from citing papers that provide context for each type of citation.

4. Use Scite Widgets: Many publishers and databases integrate Scite widgets directly into their platforms. Look for the Scite badge or link when viewing research articles on compatible sites to see Smart Citation data without leaving the platform.

5. Export and Share: Scite also allows you to export citation data or share insights with collaborators, making it easy to integrate Smart Citations into your workflow.

Need help using Scite?

If you’d like assistance using Smart Citations or integrating them into your research workflow, please contact the Office for Open Research.