Overview

Query the Dimensions academic database to find publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, and researchers using the shortwing CLI.

Queries use the Dimensions Search Language (DSL) piped to shortwing.

Reference Documentation:

• [dsl-reference.md](dsl-reference.md) — Full DSL syntax, operators, fields, and example queries

Authentication: Requires API key from https://app.dimensions.ai/account/tokens. Configure credentials in ~/.dimensions/dsl.ini or use environment variables (DIMENSIONSKEY, DIMENSIONSENDPOINT). See Authentication section in [dsl-reference.md](dsl-reference.md) for details.

Quick Start

# Search publications
echo 'search publications for "machine learning" return publications limit 10' | shortwing

# Search grants
echo 'search grants for "artificial intelligence" return grants[title+funding_usd] limit 10' | shortwing

# Find researchers
echo 'search researchers for "John Smith" return researchers[first_name+last_name+current_research_org] limit 10' | shortwing

Query Structure

search <source> [for "<terms>"] [where <filters>] return <result> [limit N]

Available Sources

Common Query Patterns

Return Specific Fields

Use + to combine fields:

echo 'search publications for "quantum" return publications[id+title+doi+year+times_cited] limit 10' | shortwing

Filter Operators

Boolean Search Operators

Boolean operators in search terms must be UPPERCASE and inside the quotes:

Important: Lowercase and/or in the where clause combines filters, but search terms require UPPERCASE AND/OR/NOT.

Tips for Precise Results

1. Use targeted search indexes for relevant results:

```bash # Most specific - title only echo 'search publications in title_only for "machine learning" return publications limit 20' | shortwing

# Good balance - title and abstract echo 'search publications in titleabstractonly for "peer feedback AND writing" return publications limit 20' | shortwing ```

1. Use phrase searches for exact multi-word terms:

``bash echo 'search publications in titleabstractonly for "\"formative assessment\" AND \"higher education\"" return publications limit 20' | shortwing ``

1. Combine search with filters to narrow scope:

``bash echo 'search publications in titleabstractonly for "\"peer review\"" where year>=2020 and timescited>10 return publications[title+doi+timescited+year] limit 20' | shortwing ``

1. Filter by citation count to find influential papers:

``bash echo 'search publications for "cognitive load" where timescited>50 return publications sort by timescited desc limit 10' | shortwing ``

General Tips

• Always use double quotes around search terms: for "search term"
• Use ~ for partial string matching: where journal.title~"Nature"
• Use limit to control result size
• See [dsl-reference.md](dsl-reference.md) for complete syntax and all available fields

Error Handling