SPIN vs. Oryx databases Marcia L. Zuzolo 22 Nov 1995 09:12 EST

I've not done a quantitative study of the two databases, but perhaps
my experience is enough.

We use both SPIN and Oryx.  We use SPIN (and we're happy with it)
when we're doing in-depth funding searches; we post the Oryx data to
our Web site and also use it for internal information dissemination.
 We went with Oryx over SPIN for the Web application because of the
huge cost difference and greater ease of moving the Oryx data into
one of our already-existing applications.

You know the addage "You get what you pay for"?  It's true.  We've
been very dissatisfied with the quality and timeliness of the Oryx
data, and the staff is less than responsive.

I don't expect perfection from any database of this type, but I'd
strongly recommend either SPIN or IRIS over Oryx.  As a buddy of
mine says, this stuff is just a grazing ground, and I agree, but
here in the midwest we pay attention to the quality of the pasture.

-Marcia

Marcia Landen Zuzolo
Sponsored Research Services
Indiana University
fax: 812/855-9943
voice: 812/855-0516
internet: xxxxxx@indiana.edu