Expand a literature review through citation networks

Any laptop with a browser and Zotero. Network access is required for discovery services.

Component	Role	Price	Link
ResearchRabbit web service current 2026-08-02	interactive citation and similarity graph exploration	Free / 免费free service observed; verify terms before sensitive collection workchecked 2026-08-02	https://www.researchrabbit.ai/
Zotero 9.x current stable channel	canonical candidate library, tags and deduplication	Free / 免费300 MB Zotero file storage tier is freechecked 2026-08-02	https://www.zotero.org/

Discovery provenance tags

seed
backward_citation
forward_citation
similar_paper
author_follow
manual_database_search
needs_dedup
needs_abstract_screen
rule: Assign at least one discovery-path tag and preserve the first-seen date for every imported record.

Seed-set challenge

Given the review question and seed-paper list, identify which concepts, populations, methods, years and geographic settings are underrepresented. Propose additional search concepts, not paper titles. Distinguish gaps caused by the seed set from gaps caused by the underlying literature. Do not claim citation-network completeness.

Known pitfalls

• Citation graphs inherit database coverage gaps.
• A visually central paper is not automatically high quality or eligible.
• Export candidate papers frequently so the graph service is not the only copy.
• Deduplicate by DOI and normalized metadata before screening.

Browser only. Suitable when fast semantic search and export are worth a small subscription.

Component	Role	Price	Link
Elicit Plus Plus plan current 2026-08-02	semantic paper search, summaries and structured export	$11/mo$132 billed annually according to the official pricing pagechecked 2026-08-02	https://elicit.com/pricing
Zotero 9.x current stable channel	deduplicated system of record	Free / 免费free desktop applicationchecked 2026-08-02	https://www.zotero.org/

Search-result evidence table

For each candidate paper, return DOI or stable URL, title, year, discovery path, exact abstract sentence relevant to the review question, and an eligibility status of include, exclude, or uncertain. Use uncertain when the abstract lacks required information. Do not infer methods or outcomes from the title.

Known pitfalls

• Semantic search is not a reproducible substitute for database search strings.
• Record query text and run date for every search round.
• Export formats can lose custom notes; test one round trip before bulk migration.
• Verify subscription terms at checkout.