Science.gov

Science.gov is a web portal and specialized search engine. Using federated search technology, Science.gov serves as a gateway to United States government scientific and technical information and research. Currently in its fifth generation, Science.gov provides a search of over 38 databases from 14 federal science agencies and 200 million pages of science information with just one query, and is a gateway to 1,900+ scientific websites.[1]

Science.gov
Type of site
Search engine
Available inEnglish
OwnerUnited States Government
Created byUnknown
URLscience.gov
CommercialNo
RegistrationNone
LaunchedDecember 2002 (2002-12)
Current statusOnline

In 2007, a report to Congress noted that in fiscal year 2007 "Science.gov experienced 6.5 million search queries across all its scientific databases and 2.6 million page views of its website."[2] By 2012, the site had reached 34 million page views annually.[3] In April 2007, Library Journal included Science.gov in its list of best references of 2006.[4] Science.gov is also the United States contribution to the international portal WorldWideScience.

History

Science.gov 1.0[5] was launched in December 2002, providing for the first time wide public access and a unified search of the government's stores of scientific and technical information. Science.gov is an interagency initiative of 18 U.S. government science organizations within 14 Federal agencies. These agencies form the voluntary Science.gov Alliance.

In May 2004, Version 2.0 was launched,[6] introducing real-time relevancy ranking to government science retrieval. This technology, funded by the Department of Energy, helps users sort through the government's research and return results relevant to individual needs. An advanced search capability and other enhancements were added. U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Director of the Office of Science Dr. Raymond L. Orbach both remarked positively on the launch of Science.gov 2.0 on May 11, 2004.[7][8]

A free "Alert" service was released in February 2005, allowing users to receive e-mail alerts about current science developments in their areas of interest. Up to 25 relevant results from selected information sources can be delivered. Results are displayed in the Alert email and in a personalized Alert Archive, which stores six weeks of alerts results. In the Archive, past activity can be reviewed and Alert profiles edited.

Launched in November 2005, Version 3.0[9] provided more refined search queries of federal science databases. In addition, fielded searching and Boolean capabilities were enhanced.

In February 2007, Science.gov 4.0[10] was launched. The new version was reviewed by Gale Cengage[11] and Government Computer News.[12] Version 4.0 allowed further refinement of search queries, allowing users to search within their original results. The relevancy ranking algorithms became more sophisticated, providing ranking of the entire full text of documents on sites where searchable full text resides. Date of the document was priority-weighted for ranking purposes. A new feature allowed users to share search results via e-mail.

Science.gov 5.0 was launched in September 2008 and announced in a U.S. Department of Energy Press Release.[13] The Oak Ridger covered the release[14] as did UPI,[15] Open Access News,[16] Federal Computer Week,[17] Econtent,[18] and SLA Government Information Division.[19] Clustering results into topics areas and the inclusion of Wikipedia topics and EurekAlert Science items related to the search were added.

Governance

Governance of Science.gov is provided by the interagency Science.gov Alliance. The Alliance is co-chaired by the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Geological Survey.

Features and capabilities

Science.gov provides science search through a variety of features and capabilities, including:

  • Accessing over 38 databases and 200 million pages of science information via one query
  • Clustering of results by subtopics or dates to help users target their search
  • Eureka Science News results[20] related to user search terms
  • Mark and send option for emailing results to friends and colleagues
  • Enhanced information related to the user's real-time search
  • Alerts service
  • Science.gov participates in the WorldWideScience global science gateway.

Content

The content for Science.gov is contributed by participating agencies[21] including science professionals, students and teachers, and the business community. Many of these agencies are members of CENDI, which provides administrative support and coordination for Science.gov. Science.gov and the Science.gov Alliance were formed in response to the April 2001 workshop, "Strengthening the Public Information Infrastructure for Science.[22]

Search function providing and hosting

The web page search function is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the "Explore Selected Science Websites by Topic" portion of the site is maintained by the CENDI Secretariat. The Science.gov website is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which also supplies the site's "deep web search" capability.[23]

See also
  • Academic databases and search engines

Notes
  1. Science.gov About page
  2. FY 2007 Report to Congress on Implementation of The E-Government Act of 2002, page 11
  3. "Science.gov: The Power of 10 U.S. government science information search & retrieval web portal celebrates 10 years of service". Retrieved Dec 6, 2012.
  4. Best References 2006, Brian E. Coutts & Cheryl LaGuardia -- Library Journal, April 15, 2007
  5. Science.gov version 1.0 announcement
  6. Science.gov version 2.0 announcement
  7. Remarks prepared for U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on the Science.gov 2.0 Launch, May 11, 2004
  8. Remarks prepared for Dr. Raymond L. Orbach Director, Office of Science Science.gov 2.0 Launch Program, May 11, 2004
  9. Science.gov version 3.0 announcement
  10. Science.gov version 4.0 announcement
  11. Péter Jacsó review of Science.gov version 4.0, Gale Cengage, March 2007
  12. Science.gov 4.0 delves deep into the Web, Government Computer News, February 16, 2007
  13. U.S. Department of Energy Press Release: Access to Science Information Expands with Science.gov 5.0 Launch, September 15, 2008
  14. Science.gov 5.0 launches, The Oak Ridger - September 15, 2008
  15. U.S. expands science info on the Web, UPI.com, September 16, 2008
  16. Preview of Science.gov 5.0 Open Access News, Peter Suber, Editor - September 15, 2008
  17. Science.gov launches a new version, Federal Computer Week, Doug Beizer, September 23, 2008
  18. Science.gov 5.0 Released, Econtent, September 19, 2008
  19. Science.gov 5.0, SLA Government Information Division, September 17, 2008
  20. Eureka Science News
  21. Science.gov participating agencies
  22. April 2001 workshop, "Strengthening the Public Information Infrastructure for Science"
  23. OSTI deep web video
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