How to Build Notion Relation for Document Citation Network

You want to create a citation network inside Notion so that one document can reference another and you can see which documents cite which. Notion’s Relation property lets you link rows between two databases, and when combined with Rollup properties, you can build a bidirectional citation graph. This article explains how to set up a Relation between two document databases, how to display the number of citations, and how to navigate the network efficiently.

What a Notion Relation Property Does for Citation Networks

A Relation property in Notion connects rows between two databases. For a citation network, you create a Relation on the same database. This means each document can point to one or more other documents it cites. The Relation property stores the linked document’s name and provides a link you can click to open the cited document.

To make the network useful, you need two databases: a main Documents database and a separate Citations database. The Citations database stores each citation as a row. Each citation row has a Relation to the source document and a Relation to the target document. This design gives you flexibility to add metadata like citation date or context.

Before building, ensure you have a Notion workspace where you can create new databases. You need at least two documents in the Documents database to test the Relation. The steps below assume you have a blank Documents database and a blank Citations database.

Steps to Create a Relation for a Citation Network

1. Create the Documents database
   Open Notion and create a new database. Name it “Documents.” Add properties such as Title, Author, and Publication Date. Populate it with at least two documents.
2. Create the Citations database
   Create a second database. Name it “Citations.” This database will store each individual citation as a row.
3. Add a Relation property to Citations pointing to Documents
   In the Citations database, click the + icon in the table header. Select Relation. Name it “Source Document.” In the dialog, choose the Documents database. This Relation links each citation row to the document that is doing the citing.
4. Add a second Relation property to Citations pointing to Documents
   Repeat the previous step. Name the second Relation “Target Document.” This Relation links each citation row to the document being cited.
5. Add a Rollup property to Documents to count citations
   In the Documents database, add a Rollup property. Name it “Cited By Count.” Configure it to look at the Citations database. Set the Relation to Target Document. Set the Property to any text property in Citations. Set the Calculate option to Count. This Rollup shows how many citations point to this document.
6. Add a second Rollup property to Documents to count outgoing citations
   Add another Rollup property. Name it “Cites Count.” Configure it to look at the Citations database. Set the Relation to Source Document. Set the Calculate option to Count. This Rollup shows how many citations this document makes to other documents.
7. Create a citation entry
   In the Citations database, click New. In the Source Document field, select a document that is citing another. In the Target Document field, select the document being cited. Repeat for every citation you want to record.
8. View the citation network
   Go to the Documents database. Click on any document to open its page. You will see the “Cited By Count” and “Cites Count” values. The Relation properties in the Citations database also show links you can click to jump to the source or target document.

If the Citation Network Has Gaps or Shows Inaccurate Counts

Rollup shows zero even after adding citations

The Rollup property may not update immediately. Refresh the page by clicking the database name or pressing F5. If it still shows zero, check that the Relation properties in the Citations database are correctly linked to the Documents database. Open a citation row and verify that both Source Document and Target Document are filled.

Relation property does not show the correct database

When adding a Relation, Notion asks you to choose a database. If you accidentally choose the wrong database, delete the Relation property and add it again. To delete, click the property name in the table header, select Properties, and click Remove.

Cannot click through to the cited document

The Relation property in the Citations database shows the linked document name as a clickable link. If you see plain text instead of a link, the Relation may be broken. Delete the Relation property and recreate it. Ensure you are selecting the Documents database and not a database view.

Duplicate citations appear in the count

The Rollup counts every row in the Citations database that matches the Relation. If you accidentally create duplicate citation rows, the count will be inflated. Use a filter on the Citations database to find duplicates. Sort by Source Document and Target Document, then manually delete extras.

Documents Database vs Citations Database: Structure Compared

Item	Documents Database	Citations Database
Purpose	Stores the documents themselves	Stores each citation as a separate row
Relation to other database	None directly, but linked via Citations	Two Relation properties: Source Document and Target Document
Rollup properties	Cited By Count and Cites Count	None needed
Number of rows per citation	One row per document, regardless of citation count	One row per citation, so a document cited 10 times creates 10 rows
Use case	Viewing a document’s citation statistics	Recording granular citation metadata like date or page number

You now have a working citation network in Notion. Use the Rollup properties to sort documents by most cited. Add a filter to the Citations database to show only citations from a specific year. To make the network even more powerful, add a Select property to the Citations database for citation type, such as direct quote or paraphrase, and then use a Rollup to count those types.