searching-academic-outputs-with-dimensions_skill

Overview

This skill queries the Dimensions academic database to find publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, datasets, and researcher profiles using the shortwing CLI. It helps product teams, researchers, and analysts locate empirical evidence and scholarly outputs to inform decisions, validate hypotheses, and map research trends. Authentication requires a Dimensions API key configured via environment variables or a local config file.

How this skill works

You compose a Dimensions Search Language (DSL) query and pipe it to shortwing, which sends the request to the Dimensions API and returns structured results. Queries follow the pattern: search <source> [for "terms"] [where <filters>] return <result> [limit N]. The DSL supports field selection, filters, aggregations, sorting, and boolean operators for precise retrieval.

When to use it

• To find peer-reviewed studies or empirical evidence supporting a product decision
• When conducting a literature review or building a reading list on a topic
• To identify funding patterns, major funders, and grant amounts in a field
• To discover researchers, their affiliations, and collaboration networks
• To locate related patents or clinical trials tied to a technology or intervention

Best practices

• Use targeted indexes (title_only or title_abstract_only) for precision before broadening to full-text
• Combine phrase searches and filters (year, times_cited) to prioritize recent and influential work
• Return only required fields (use + to combine) to simplify parsing and reduce payload
• Use boolean operators in UPPERCASE inside quotes for complex term logic (AND/OR/NOT)
• Limit results during exploratory searches and increase limit for comprehensive exports

Example use cases

• Search publications for "machine learning" and sort by times_cited to find seminal papers
• Search grants where funders.name~"NIH" to list major funded projects and funding_usd
• Search clinical_trials for "diabetes" to compile trial phases and outcomes
• Search researchers for "Jane Doe" to retrieve profiles and current research organizations
• Search patents where filing_year>=2023 to monitor recent filings in a technology area