Where Do Your Citations Come From? Citation-Constellation: A Free, Open-Source, No-Code, and Auditable Tool for Citation Network Decomposition with Complementary BARON and HEROCON Scores

TL;DR

Citation-Constellation is a no-code, open-source tool that analyzes citation networks using novel scores to reveal the social and structural pathways of scholarly influence, offering detailed diagnostics without relying on traditional metrics.

Contribution

The paper introduces Citation-Constellation, a new tool with two complementary scores, BARON and HEROCON, for decomposing citation profiles based on network proximity, enhancing understanding of citation origins.

Findings

Implemented a phased architecture for citation analysis

Developed two bibliometric scores: BARON and HEROCON

Provided a no-code web interface for researchers

Abstract

Standard citation metrics treat all citations as equal, obscuring the social and structural pathways through which scholarly influence propagates. I introduce Citation-Constellation, a freely available no-code tool for citation network analysis with two complementary bibliometric scores that decompose a researcher's citation profile by network proximity between citing and cited authors. BARON (Boundary-Anchored Research Outreach Network score) is a strict binary metric counting only citations from outside the detected collaborative network. HEROCON (Holistic Equilibrated Research Outreach CONstellation score) applies graduated weights assigning partial credit to in-group citations based on relationship proximity. The gap between scores serves as a diagnostic of inner-circle dependence. An extended abstract with full details appears in the paper. The tool implements this through a phased architecture: (1) self-citation analysis, (2) co-authorship graph traversal, (3) temporal institutional affiliation matching via ROR, and (4) AI-agent-driven venue governance extraction using a local LLM. Phases 1-3 are fully operational; Phase 4 is under development. Key design choices include ORCID-validated author identity resolution, an UNKNOWN classification for citations with insufficient metadata, and comprehensive audit trails documenting every classification decision. A no-code web interface enables researchers to compute scores without programming, installation, or registration. I present these scores as structural diagnostics, not quality indicators. BARON and HEROCON describe where in the social graph citations originate. They should not be used for hiring, promotion, or funding decisions. HEROCON weights are experimental and require empirical calibration.