Gephi
Gephi
Open-source network visualization and exploration software that can be used to analyze scholarly and other complex networks.
Developer:
Gephi Consortium
Our Take
Gephi is useful when a research question involves relationships among people, organizations, concepts, or citations. Its network maps can reveal clusters, influential nodes, and connections that are difficult to see in a spreadsheet, making it valuable for exploratory network analysis and bibliometrics.
The quality of the visualization depends on the quality of the underlying network data and the choices made about layout, filtering, and metrics. Dense graphs can look persuasive while hiding uncertainty or missing links.
Use Gephi to explore and communicate network structure, but explain how the network was built and which measures were used. For reproducible work, retain the source data, cleaning steps, and analysis settings.
Key Features
Interactive network visualization, Graph layout and filtering, Node and edge metrics, Customizable visual styling
Best For
Network analysis and visualization
Research Tasks
Visualize collaboration or citation networks; explore relationships among authors or concepts; identify clusters and central nodes; create network figures for a paper or presentation.
Pricing
$0 — free and open source under the GPL license; donations are optional.