System and method of generating a set of search results

A method comprising:

• receiving a seed data input at a search system;
• automatically retrieving a document using the search system in response to the seed data;
• iteratively searching a document space based on backward citations within the document and within documents corresponding to the backward citations to produce backward citation documents;
• iteratively searching the document space based on forward citations corresponding to an attribute of the document and of documents corresponding to the forward citations to produce forward citation documents;
• selectively filtering the backward citation documents and the forward citation documents based on the seed data input to produce filtered search results;
• and
• generating a graphical user interface (GUI) including at least a portion of the filtered search results.

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory accessible to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
• perform a search operation on a document space based on a seed data input including a document identifier and a selection of a type of analysis, the search operation including retrieving documents based on backward citations and forward citations from the document associated with the document identifier and iteratively retrieving forward citations and backward citations from the documents to produce a set of search results through three or more iterations;
• selectively filter the set of search results according to the type of analysis to produce filtered search results;
• and
• generate a graphical user interface (GUI) including at least a portion of the filtered search results.