(Previous discussion continued)
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Infoed vs. Iris Mike McCallister (21 Jan 1994 09:01 EST)
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Infoed vs. Iris Mike McCallister 21 Jan 1994 09:01 EST
I have usedthe old version of SPIN and IRIS and the OFP system that is somewhat of a dinosaur. My favorite for working with PI's at the beginning of their searches, however, is the DIALOG CD service. The searches can be very intuitive and there are a bunch of data resources in the files. I bought it when getting printouts from SPINwas still such a hassle and I could sit with a PI and print out reports more easily with DIALOG. I am considering getting the newversino of SPIN because they are considering a special price for a consortium of schools her in Missouri (we sort of whined "no money" a long time and they really started cutting the price). If I do buy SPIN, I will dump some of the more marginal paper-based reports. Spanky > Judy Fredenberg, Celia Walker, and I have had a few discussions about which > computer-based information system is best. I have both, Ceila has Iris (and > is a strong advocate!), and I'm not sure what Judy has. Judy and I though > it would be interesting to see what the rest of you think about what is > available. I can start off the discussion with my own observations. Keep > in mind that I just started in March and am new to the res. admin. game! > > Infoed offers SPIN, which is easier to use and much more flexible than IRIS. > You can run searches by keyword, sponsor, deadline date, award type, and > many other types of information and you can view, You can run keyword > searches using Boolean logic, you can use any combination of fields to > search, and you can send the results to the screen, to print, or to file. > You can also determine what kind of information will be contained in the > output.. It also has it's companion program, SPAS Faculty, which will store > information about faculty, and you can run a match between SPIN and SPAS and > automatically generate matches for faculty who have a profile in the > database. The idea is to run matches every time you get updates from Infoed > for SPIN. > > IRIS is offered by the University of Illinois and is an on-line dial up > program, rather than a PC based program like Infoed. IRIS is less expensive > and they are usually willing to contract with a system of universities (in > our case the contract is with the State Board of Regents) so you can split > the bill. Included in the price is a subscription to the CBD, which is > updated daily. In addition to being economical, it requires no maintenance > (unlike Infoed). However, it is less user friendly, and quite a bit less > flexible. It doesn't have a prepackaged program for faculty profile or > match capability. > > I have found that I like both. SPIN has so much flexibility and sparkley > features compared to IRIS, but I have found that IRIS is generally easier to > use if you are looking for programs in highly specific areas of physical > sciences and engineering. The keyword thesaurus for IRIS gets very > specific, so you can find good matched. There is a new version of the SPIN > thesaurus that is less general, but I haven't looked too close yet. > > I haven't been able to see very much difference in terms of content. I > think both programs cover the same funding opportunities for the most part. > > What do you think?