What Scope does
Scope sets how closely a result must match your search to be shown. It applies to searches with text in the Publications, Authors, Venues and Institutions tabs, and you find it in the switcher beside the result count. An AI model judges how well the results match your search, and each level ends the list where matching papers thin out.
The list always runs from the top of the best-match ranking (see How Search Works in Keenious) down to the cut. A list can therefore keep the occasional off-topic paper, and a relevant paper just below the cut is left out.
The four levels
Level | What it keeps |
Focused (1 segment) | Only results that closely match your search. The shortest list. |
Balanced (2 segments, default) | Results down to where most papers still match. |
Exploratory (3 segments) | Also adjacent and interdisciplinary work in the same broad field. |
All (4 segments) | Everything the search found, with no cut. |
Results run from the best match down. Each level keeps the top of the list and ends it where papers that match your search thin out.
Each level keeps everything a stricter level keeps, and the Scope menu shows how many results each level gives for the current search. Changing Scope runs the search again and rebuilds the search map from the new list.
Scope, result count and sorting
The result count menu sets the most results a search returns: 100, 300, 500 or 1,000. Scope can end the list earlier, so a search may return fewer results than you chose, and the count then shows no total. Sorting by Most cited or Most recent reorders only the results Scope kept. A search without text, such as browsing with filters only, does not use Scope.
Authors, Venues and Institutions
These tabs rank authors, venues and institutions by their publications that match your search (see Searching for Authors, Venues and Institutions). A stricter level gives a shorter list of those with the most matching work. One that your search names directly, such as a university searched for by name, stays at every level.
Choosing a level
Getting to know a field: Balanced, with the research areas on the search map.
The core papers on a narrow question: Focused, sorted by Most cited.
Related methods from other fields: Exploratory.
A topic with little literature or unusual wording: All.
Troubleshooting
Fewer results than you chose: Scope ended the list where matches thinned out. Pick a broader level.
A paper you expected is missing: it ranked below the cut, or the topic appears only in its full text, which search does not read. Try a broader level, or use words from the paper's title or abstract.
Loosely related papers in the list: use Focused, add an exact phrase in quotes (
"exact phrase"), or exclude a word (-word).