When I search by keyword, which fields will show up in my results?

Searches are carried out against the entire text of the SPIN programs. This includes opportunity titles, sponsor names, synopses, objectives, as well as funding opportunity numbers, email addresses, keywords, and several other fields. For example, if I only use the keyword “immigration” in my search, I might get results pertaining to funds offered to projects related to immigration, as well as any projects whose description detail an applicant’s “immigration status.”

If I use "test" as a keyword in my search, will that be the only word SPIN checks?

SPIN automatically invokes inflectional forms of the entered words (e.g., different conjugations of a verb). For example, a search for "test" will also scan for tests, tested, and testing. This can be disabled by inserting a plus sign (+) before the search term: +test.

When performing a keyword search, will SPIN include any words related to the one I entered?

SPIN can pass entered terms through an integrated thesaurus, potentially expanding the terms being searched for. For example, a search for cancer will scan all SPIN programs for: cancer, carcinogens, chemotherapy, tumors, oncology, and other terms. To do so, insert a ‘~’ before each individual term you are using to perform your search.

~Scientific research

Inserting a tilde searches for records containing ‘scientific’ or its related terms in the thesaurus, and ‘research’

~“Scientific research”

Inserting a tilde before a quoted phrase searches for records containing the phrase ‘scientific research’ or its related terms in the thesaurus

My search using a single keyword seems rather broad. Is there any way I can create a more specific pool of results using a second term?

A second term can be added to your initial word using logic. For example, when the search results using the keyword “education” are very broad, using logic to include “education” AND “curriculum,” for example may be helpful. Your keywords should be typed this way: education AND curriculum

Are there any other tips or command functions I can use to help hone my search?

SPIN also contains a number of capabilities to build complex searches with various logic and grammar parsing. The commands can be combined together, along with parenthetical logic to dictate the order of operations, for building complex queries defining exactly what you are looking for.

Example Input Description
Scientific research Searches for records containing ‘scientific’ and ‘research’ or their inflectional forms
Scientific OR research Searches for records containing ‘scientific’ or ‘research’ or their inflectional forms
"Scientific research" Wrapping terms in double quotes searches for records containing the phrase ‘scientific research’
Scientific -research Inserting a minus symbol before a term searches for records containing ‘scientific’ and not ‘research’
+scientific Inserting a plus symbol before a term performs search after disabling expansion for inflectional forms
Scient* Appending an asterisk to a term invokes a wildcard search: searches for records containing ‘scient’ and any suffix
~Scientific research Inserting a tilde searches for records containing ‘scientific’ or its related terms in the thesaurus, and ‘research’
~“Scientific research” Inserting a tilde before a quoted phrase searches for records containing the phrase ‘scientific research’ or its related terms in the thesaurus