CARDS Help

• CARDS Top Toolbar Selections
• General Instructions and Tips for Searching CARDS
• Individual Search Field Instructions
• Results Page Help
• Detail Record Page Help

CARDS Top Toolbar Selections

• Office of Dietary Supplements Home: Click on "Office of Dietary Supplements Home" to go to the Office of Dietary Supplements homepage.
• CARDS Home: Click on "CARDS Home" to go to the CARDS webpage on the Office of Dietary Supplements website.
• New Search: Click on "New Search" to clear the search form to begin a new search.
• CARDS Help: Click on "CARDS Help" to access help pages.
• CARDS Frequently Asked Questions: Click on "CARDS Frequently Asked Questions" to read answers to frequently asked questions about CARDS.
• E-mail Comments: Click on "E-mail comments" to e-mail your questions or comments about CARDS to the Office of Dietary Supplements.
• CARDS Survey: Click on "CARDS Survey" to complete a short survey to let us know how we can improve CARDS.

General Instructions and Tips for Searching CARDS

• Access Help by clicking on the label to the left of each box on the search page or by clicking on CARDS Help at the top of the search page.
• You can move among boxes on the search page using either a mouse or the Tab key.
• Each of the list boxes contains ALL. When ALL is selected, your search will retrieve all projects for that search category.
• You can select multiple values in the list boxes. To do so, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on each item you wish to select. All highlighted items are being selected.
• You can leave a box blank when you do not want to limit your search. If you specify search criteria in any box, the search will be narrowed according to your selections.
• You can enter search terms in either upper or lower case.
• Do not use punctuation when entering search terms.
• Avoid being overly restrictive or limiting at the start of a search. It is best to start with a broad search, making few search selections, and then narrow your search to retrieve more specific information.
• Clear: Click on "CLEAR" to clear the search form to begin a new search.
• Submit: Click on "Submit" to enter your search and retrieve your results.

Individual Search Field Instructions

• Dietary Supplement or Ingredient
  Use this box to specify the dietary supplement or ingredient being studied. To find and highlight the dietary supplement or ingredient you wish to include in your search, you can use either the up and down arrows in the box on the left or type the name of the supplement or ingredient into the box at the top. Once you have highlighted the supplement or ingredient you wish to include, double click on it or use the > to move it to the box on the right. Only the supplements/ingredients listed in the box on the right will be searched. You can include more than one supplement/ingredient in your search by repeating the process above to move multiple supplements/ingredients to the box on the right. Use the < or << to remove one or all supplements/ingredients from the box on the right. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all dietary supplements and ingredients.

• Health Outcome or Biological Effects
  Use this box to specify the health outcome or biological effects being studied. Use the up and down arrows at the right of the box to find the health outcome you wish to include in your search and click on it to make your selection. You can select multiple health outcomes by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on your selections. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all health outcomes or biological effects.

• Type of Study
  Use this box to specify the research methodology used by a project or program. Use the up and down arrows at the right of the box to find the type of study you wish to include in your search and click on it to make your selection. You can select multiple types of studies by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on your selections. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all types of studies.

• Keywords in Abstract or Title
  Use these boxes to search by keywords or text found in the project's title or abstract. Enter the word or first few letters of the word for which you wish to search. Use the Boolean operator buttons (AND, OR, AND NOT) to specify how you wish to link the terms. You can leave these boxes blank if you do not want to search for a particular word.

  To search for project abstracts or titles that contain both the words "chemopreventive" AND "biomarker", type the following into the keywords boxes:
  

  To search for project abstracts or titles that contain either the words "estrogen" OR start with "phyto", type the following into the keywords boxes:
  

  To search for project abstracts or titles that contain either the words "retinal" AND "macular", AND NOT "vitamin", type the following into the keywords boxes:
  

• Fiscal Year
  Use this box to specify the fiscal year in which the project was considered active. A fiscal year begins October 1^st and ends September 30^th. To choose a particular fiscal year, click on the desired year. You can select multiple years by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on each year. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all fiscal years.

• Funding Agency
  Use this box to specify the Federal agency awarding the project. Use the up and down arrows at the right of the box to find the agency you wish to include in your search and click on it to make your selection. You can select multiple agencies by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on your selections. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all agencies.

• Project Identifier
  Use these boxes to specify a project's activity code, administering organization, serial number and suffix/support year. You can leave these boxes blank to include all projects.

  The Project Identifier consists of four parts:

  • First Box is Activity Code: 3 alphanumeric characters identifying a specific category of research activity (e.g., research projects, fellowship programs, cooperative agreements)
  • Second Box is Administering Organization Code: 2 alphabetic characters identifying the organization awarding the project.
  • Third Box is Serial Number: 5-7 numeric characters generally assigned sequentially to a series within an NIH Institute, Center or Division
  • Fourth Box is Suffix and Support Year: 2-4 alphanumeric characters comprising the following:
    • Grant Year – 2 numeric characters indicating the actual segment or budget period of a project. The grant number is increased by one for each succeeding renewal year. The grant year number (e.g. 01, 02) is usually preceded by a dash to separate it from the serial number
    • Supplement – the letter "S" and related number identifying a particular supplemental record (e.g., S1, S2)
    • Amendment – the letter "A" and related number identifying each amended application (e.g., A1, A2)
    • Allowance – the letter "X" and related number identifying a fellowship's institutional allowance record (e.g., X1, X2)

  Example:
  

• Researcher
  Use these boxes to specify the researcher, also known as the principal investigator or PI. The researcher is the individual who directs the program or project. You can leave these boxes blank to include all researchers.

  Researcher consists of three parts:

  • First Box is the researcher's LAST NAME: Enter the researcher's last name or the first few letters of their last name.
  • Second Box is the researcher's FIRST NAME: Enter the researcher's first name or the first few letters of their first name.
  • Third Box is the researcher's MIDDLE INITIAL: Enter the researcher's middle initial.

  Example:
  

• Researcher's Institution
  Use this box to specify the institution with which the researcher (principal investigator or PI) is affiliated. Enter the institution's name or the first few letters of the name. You can leave this box blank to include all institutions.

  Example:
  

• US State or Territory
  Use this box to specify the state or territory of the institution with which the researcher (principal investigator or PI) is affiliated. Use the up and down arrows at the right of the box to find the state you wish to include in your search and click on it to make your selection. You can select multiple states by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on your selections. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all states and territories.

• Country
  Use this box to specify the country of the institution with which the researcher (principal investigator or PI) is affiliated. Use the up and down arrows at the right of the box to find the country you wish to include in your search and click on it to make your selection. You can select multiple countries by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on your selections. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects for all countries. Most of the research institutions for projects in CARDS are located in the United States.

• Office of Dietary Supplements Direct or Related
  Use this box to specify if you want to retrieve research projects that are directly related or indirectly related to dietary supplements. For example, a clinical trial comparing bone density in women given a daily calcium supplement versus a placebo would be classified as directly related to dietary supplements. Conversely, a study examining the activation of steroid hormone receptors by supplemental vitamin D in cell culture would be classified as indirectly related to dietary supplements because the direct physiological or health effects of vitamin D supplementation are not being studied.

  Click on the desired option to include it in your search. If you do not make any selection, you will retrieve projects that are both directly and indirectly related to dietary supplements. Most of the projects in CARDS are coded as directly related.

• Records per Page
  Use this box to specify the number of projects to be displayed on each result page. If you do not change the selection, 10 records will be displayed on each result page.

  Example:

  To view 5 projects on each results page, enter a "5" into the Records per Page box as pictured below. If your search retrieves 20 projects, there will be 4 pages, each containing 5 projects.

  

Results Page Help

• Search Results
  • Search results are displayed in groups of 10, unless you specify another number. To move between pages of your search results, click on the page number at the upper right corner or the lower right corner of the results page.
  • From the results page, click on the paper icon to the left of the project to view the project abstract and detailed project information.
  • Modify your last search: From the results screen, click on "Modify your last search" to return to the search page containing your search. You can then view or change your search and resubmit it.
  • Click here to return to your search page: When your search results in no projects, click on "Click here to return to your search page" to return to the search page containing your search. You can then view or change your search and resubmit it.
  • Click here to run a new query: When your search results in no projects, click on "Click here to run a new query" to clear and return to the search page. You can then begin a new search.
• Downloading Project Information and Abstracts
  From the results page, you may select and download project information to your computer by following the instructions below. Downloads will include the following information for each project: project number, principal investigator first and last name, project title, funding agency and project abstract. This will allow you to save and/or print information and abstracts for projects of interest.
  • Add: Click on the "Add" button to the left of the project(s) you wish to download. As you click on each "Add" button, it will be replaced by a "Remove" button indicating the project will be added to your download list unless you wish to remove it by clicking on "Remove".
  • Remove: If you wish to remove a project from your download list, click on the "Remove" button to the left of the project.
  • View List: At any time, you may view your list of projects to download by clicking on "View List" at the top or bottom of the project listing.
  • Download: When you are ready to download your selected projects, click on "Download" at the top or bottom of the project listing. The next screen will ask you to select a file format. After you have selected a file format, click on "Download" to complete the download to your computer.
  • View Download: Once the download process is complete, click on "View Download" to view your file. If you wish, you may then save the file to your computer.

Detail Record Page Help

• Back to results: Click on "back to results" to return to the list of projects that were returned from your search.
• View Publications Associated with this Project: From the detail record of a project, you can view listings of related publications via the National Library of Medicine's PubMed/MEDLINE database. To view publications resulting from a project, click on "View Publications Associated with this Project" at the upper right of the detail record page. Please note that some projects will not return any publications; these links are provided as a service and may not always constitute a complete listing of all pertinent publications.
• View Publications from Principal Investigator: To view publications resulting from a project as well as other publications from the principal investigator (researcher), click on "View Publications from Principal Investigator". Please note that some projects will not return any publications; these links are provided as a service and may not always constitute a complete listing of all pertinent publications.