re: Michael Ludwick's question on electronic searches

We have used IRIS, SPIN, and The Grants Adviser for electronic searches.  We
 started with IRIS.  It is a
relatively friendly program, easy to use, has many grant sources in its
 database (over 7,000, if I remember
correctly).  However, it's a little clunky.  It was invented many years ago to
 fit the technology of the time.
One first looks up keywords in a large paper list of keywords (they call it a
 thesaurus); then checks the
hierarchy of keywords in a another long list (so that researchers interested in
 frogs will also get information
on reptiles and animals, for instance); then enters a list of numbers onto the
 screen.  The result is a printout
of possibilities; one can either download it, print it from the screen, or have
 the IRIS folks in Illinois print it and
mail it to you.

The biggest disadvantage is of IRIS is that it does not allow Boolean searches.
 That is, we cannot tell it to
search for sources which support x and y and z.  We can only ask it for sources
 which will support x,
sources which will support y, and sources which will support z.  We recently
 conducted a search for a
very specific and narrow chemistry project, for instance.  Under IRIS we could
 only search for sources
which fund physical sciences, chemistry, physical chemistry, mixed-phase
 chemistry, or surface chemistry.
 As you might imagine, there were many sources!  We frequently get printouts
 from IRIS searches of more
than 100 pages.  Someone has to wade through them and pick out the few which
 might bear fruit--a very
time-consuming task.

SPIN, on the other hand, will perform Boolean searches.  We can ask it to
 search for sources which support
x and y and z; it prints out the few which meet all of the listed criteria.  In
 other words, the program does all
of the wading--saves lots of time.  It also lists keywords on the screen; we
 need not page through a printed
thesaurus.  In short, SPIN makes better use of the available technology.  I
 believe it has approximately the
same number of grant sources as IRIS.

We subscribed to The Grants Adviser-PC for a year, but found it unhelpful.  So
 unhelpful that I can't
remember much about it.  I like their newsletter though, and still take it.
 TGA also sells an electronic CFDA on
disk--that is very helpful.  One can search it for whatever one wants.

I have a query for the net: are there any wonderful databases (or resources of
 any kind) on CD-ROM?  I've
been waiting for the 'killer app'--the program I absolutely have to have--on
 CD-ROM so that I can buy a
CD-ROM drive.  Anybody know of one?

Wm. E. Campbell
Director, Grants & Research
UW-River Falls
xxxxxx@uwrf.edu