Overview

Scite doesn’t just show how a paper has been cited — it creates a citation report that summarizes how a paper is received across the literature. Each Scite Report includes:

A breakdown of supporting, contrasting, and mentioning citations
A visual citation network, showing how other papers are connected
The Scite Index (SI) — a metric that indicates the proportion of supportive evidence

This module introduces how to read these reports and interpret the Scite Index to assess a paper’s reputation in the scholarly community.

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How do I use the Scite report page?

Flashcards

What does the Scite Index (SI) measure?

The proportion of supporting citations to total evaluative citations (supporting + contrasting). It gives a quick sense of scholarly agreement.

Which of the following appears in a Scite Report?

Citation types and graph view. The report includes a breakdown of how a paper has been cited and visual tools to explore citation networks.

What does a low Scite Index (SI) suggest?

The paper has more contrasting than supporting citations, which may indicate disagreement or controversy in the field.

What does the citation network in a Scite report help visualize?

How papers cite each other. The graph shows citation relationships and how ideas are connected across studies.

Optional - Preparation Task

Think of a paper you’ve used or cited in one of your previous assignments. Ask yourself the following:

Do you know how that paper has been received by other researchers?
Is it mostly supported or challenged?
Would seeing its Scite Report influence how you use it in your writing?

Write a future prompt that could help you explore that paper once you gain access to Scite, such as:
"Show how [paper title] has been cited — is it mostly supported or disputed?"