Overview

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

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

Reference Documentation:

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

Authentication: Requires API key from https://app.dimensions.ai/account/tokens. Run dimcli --init to configure credentials. See Authentication section in dsl-reference.md for details.

Quick Start

# Configure credentials (first time only)
dimcli --init

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

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

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

Query Structure

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

Available Sources

Source	Description
publications	Research papers, articles, books
grants	Research funding awards
patents	Patent applications and grants
clinical_trials	Clinical trial records
researchers	Researcher profiles
datasets	Research datasets

Common Query Patterns

Task	Query
Search by keyword	search publications for "CRISPR" return publications limit 20
Filter by year	search publications where year=2024 return publications limit 10
Search title only	search publications in title_only for "climate change" return publications limit 10
Highly cited papers	search publications for "AI" where times_cited>100 return publications sort by times_cited desc limit 10
Grants by funder	search grants where funders.name~"NIH" return grants[title+funding_usd] limit 10
Recent patents	search patents where filing_year>=2023 return patents[title+assignees] limit 10
Clinical trials	search clinical_trials for "diabetes" return clinical_trials[title+phase] limit 10
Aggregations	search publications for "robotics" return research_orgs aggregate count sort by count desc limit 10

Return Specific Fields

Use + to combine fields:

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

Filter Operators

Operator	Example
= equals	year=2024
> greater than	times_cited>100
~ contains	journal.title~"Nature"
in range	year in [2020:2024]
and/or combine	year=2024 and type="article"

Boolean Search Operators

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

Pattern	Example
AND (both required)	for "machine learning AND healthcare"
OR (either matches)	for "python OR java"
NOT (exclude)	for "AI NOT robotics"
Grouped	for "(cancer OR tumor) AND treatment"
Exact phrase	for "\"peer feedback\"" (escaped quotes)
Proximity	for "\"formal model\"~10" (within 10 words)

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:

   # Most specific - title only
   echo 'search publications in title_only for "machine learning" return publications limit 20' | dimcli
   
   # Good balance - title and abstract
   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "peer feedback AND writing" return publications limit 20' | dimcli
   

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

   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "\"formative assessment\" AND \"higher education\"" return publications limit 20' | dimcli
   

3. Combine search with filters to narrow scope:

   echo 'search publications in title_abstract_only for "\"peer review\"" where year>=2020 and times_cited>10 return publications[title+doi+times_cited+year] limit 20' | dimcli
   

4. Filter by citation count to find influential papers:

   echo 'search publications for "cognitive load" where times_cited>50 return publications sort by times_cited desc limit 10' | dimcli
   

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 for complete syntax and all available fields

Error Handling

Error	Solution
dimcli not configured	Run dimcli --init
Invalid credentials	Get new key from https://app.dimensions.ai/account/tokens
Query syntax error	Check DSL syntax in dsl-reference.md