Systems and methods for visualizing relationships between publications

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for illustrating relationships between a set of objects on a display device. An image is generated and displayed on the display device that includes a graphical representation for each of the objects. One of the objects in the set of objects is selected, and an application determines relationships between the selected object and a subset of the other objects. Connectors (i.e., a graphic overlay) are rendered over the image to show the relationship between one object and another object. Indirect relationships may be shown by drawing connectors between one object and a related object that connect one or more intervening objects. In one embodiment, the objects are publications stored in a digital repository and the relationships between publications are determined by examining references to other publications included in citations. Additional information, such as metadata, may also be rendered in the image.