Inspec®
Date revised: 29 July 2021

IET Inspec is one of the most definitive databases for subject-specific and interdisciplinary research in the fields ofengineering, physics and computer science. For 50 years it’s been an essential discovery tool to numerous
prestigious institutions around the world.
Inspec focuses on four main subject areas:
•

•

•
•

Physics: elementary particles and fields, atomic, molecular and nuclear physics, phenomenology, fluids, plasmas
and electric discharges, condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties, electronic structure:electrical, magnetic, and optical properties, cross-disciplinary physics and related areas, geophysics, astronomy
and astrophysics.
Electrical engineering and electronics: engineering mathematics, materials science, circuits and circuit theory,components, electron, magnetic and superconducting devices and materials, optical materials and applications,electro-optics and optoelectronics, electromagnetic fields, communications, instrumentation, power systems andapplications.
Computers and control: management topics, systems and control theory and technology, numerical analysis andtheoretical computer topics, computer hardware, software and applications.
Mechanical and production engineering: general topics in manufacturing and production engineering,
manufacturing and production, engineering mechanics, and industrial sectors.

Use Inspec to answer such questions as:
What strategies can be used to enhance quantum entanglement by local photon subtraction?

Date Coverage 1898-present

Update Frequency Weekly

Geographic Coverage International

Document Types Journal articles (12% of which areopen access), reports, books, conferences, pre-prints,
dissertations and a small number of patents andstandards.

Publisher
Inspec is provided by The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Inspec, The IET
Michael Faraday House
Six Hills Way
Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2AYUK

1© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Sample document

AB

RF

2

© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

SU,
SUBT

CC
IPC

IF
TI
AU
AUFN
AULN

LA
SL
DTX
DTYPE
PUB
VO
ISS
PG
ISSN
CODEN
PSTYPE
PB
PBLOC
FSU
DOI
NR
PD, YR
AN

FAV
UD

3

© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Search fields
Field Name

Field
Code

Abstract

AB

Abstract present

ABANY

Accession numberAN

All fields + text--

Astronomical object
indexing

ASI

Author1
Author First Name
Author Last Name

AU
AUFN
AULN

icde N/10 optimization
nguyen AND "ho-huu"asi("ngc 3393")
asi(3393)
asi("iras 18264-1152" OR "iras05358+3543")
asi("18264-1152" OR"05358+3543")
au("nguyen thoi, t")aufn(nguyen)auln(thoi)First author

FAU

fau("ho huu, v")

Author affiliationAF

af("ton duc thang" AND vietnam)

CI

ci("si-al-au int")
ci("ce - el")ci("si - int" AND "si - el")ci(fe AND si)ci(gaas bin)Chemical indexing

ExampleDescription and Notesab(“truss optimization” PRE/6“continuous variables”)"evolutionary computing " ANDabany(yes)

Use adjacency and/or Boolean operators tonarrow search results.
Add: AND ABANY(YES) to a query to limit
retrieval to records with abstracts.
A unique document identification number
assigned by the information provider.

an(15204281)

Searches all fields except cited references.

Available in some records added since 1995.

Includes all Author names.
First name listed in Author field. It is included in
Author Browse field, but its position cannot be
specified there.
Includes as much data as is available in theoriginal document, such as organization,
department, address, city, state, country, author
email, etc.
Displays with label Substance.
Available in some records added since 1987; CI
searches both the substance(s) and/or role(s).
Refer to Chemical Indexing Roles below.
See also Substance.
Cited reference data is present in fewer than
10% of records in Inspec. References are
displayed in the Abstract field.

Cited referencesRF

rf("d data" LNK "applied soft
computing" LNK 2011)
rf(camp AND chen AND data)rf((datta LNK "applied soft
computing" LNK 2011) AND(chen LNK "engineering
optimization" LNK 2008))

The content of references differ based on thetype of work cited. For a journal reference, thecited author name(s), article title, publication
title, volume, publication year, and DOI are
typically given.
Use LNK to explicitly search multiple parts of thesame reference.

4© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

FieldCode

Field Name

ExampleDescription and Notes
Use AND if you want to search for multiplereferences within a single record.

Number of citedreferences

NR

Classification1

CC

Major classification1

MJCC

1

Classification (IPC)

CNT

cc(E2180*)cc("buckling and instability")mjcc("general shapes")mjcc(E2110A)
ipc(E04C 3/00)
ipc(F16M)
ipc(E04C 3/00: Structuralelongated elements)
cd(esapeh)cf("xii international scientificcolloquium")cnt(brazil)

EVDT

evdt(20110805)

IPC

CODEN
Conference
information
Conference country
Conference eventend date
Conference event
start dateConference location

CD

Conference title

CFTI

CF

ESDT
CDT
CG

cdt(20110731)

doi("10.1016/j.eswa.2015.04.07
2")

Document title

TI

ti(optimization AND "truss
structure*")Title only

TIO

tio("truss structure*")DTX

Document type

DTYPE

EditorED

FAV

Displays in Classification field.
Available in records added since 1969.
See below for more information.

cg(“san jose, ca”)
cfti(2011 AND "neuralnetworks")

DOI

Document treatment

Also searchable using field code INSPCC.

Range searching is NOT supported forconference dates.
Range searching is NOT supported forconference dates.

Digital object
identifier

First available5nr(31)

dtx(p)
dtx(practical)
dtx(x AND t)dtx(experimental AND
theoretical)
dtype(journal PRE/1 paper*)dtype("conference paper")dtype(report NOT "reportsection")ed(“smith, j*”)fav(20131212)

Search the portion of the DOI that comes after
http://dx.doi.org/. Video presentations at the IET
Web site are linked from some documents. To
locate them, add the query: doi(iet.tv) to yoursearch.
Includes Title, Alternate title and Subtitle, but not
Publication title (PUB).
Searches only the Title, not Subtitle or Alternate
title.
First used in 1971.
Multiple treatment codes may apply to a single
document.

Indicates the first time a document was loaded
in a specific database on Dialog. It will notchange regardless of how many times therecord is subsequently reloaded - as long as theaccession number does not change.
© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Field Name

Field
Code

From database2

FDB

Identifier (keyword)

IF

ImagesExampleDescription and Notes

su("structural engineering") AND
fdb(inspec)
su("structural engineering") AND
fdb(10000135)
if("constrained differential
evolution")

Use in multi-file searches to isolate records froma single file. FDB cannot be searched on its
own; specify at least one search term then AND
it with FDB.

signal* AND ftany(yes)A small number of images are present in records
from 1897 to 1968. Records with images can be
identified by adding AND FTANY(YES) to thequery.
Also searchable in the Look Up Citation tool.

ISBN

ISBN

ISSN

ISSN

Issue

ISS

isbn(9783642135941)
issn(0957-4174)
issn(09574174)
iss(20)LanguageLAla(french)PG

pg(7057-69)
pg(7057)

Numeric indexing

Pagination

Also searchable in the Look Up Citation tool.
Patent information is only available between theyears 1906- 1976.

Patent informationPAT

pat(otis N/1 elevator and 1975)

Inventor
Patent application
date
Patent assignee
Patent priority
application number

INV

inv(Goodwin, e. c.)

PAD

pad(1973-02-05)

AP

ap("lucas elec co. ltd.")APN

apn(2310718)

Patent priority datePRD

prd(19750525)
prd(>19751231)

Date range searching is supported.

PDA

pda(19760128)

Date range searching is supported.

PN

pn(1422775)

Patent publication
date
Patent publication
numberPatent publication
country

6

Also searchable in the Look Up Citation tool.
LA searches for language of original publication;
all Inspec abstracts are in English.
Refer to the separate Numeric Indexing section,
below.
Page ranges can be searched, but werecommend that you should search only thestart page).

PC

Publication datePD

Publication year

YR

Publication title1

PUB

Publisher location

PBLOC

pc(gb)
pc(us)
pd(20151115)
pd(20150701-20151231)
yr(2015)yr(2013-2015)
pub("expert systems withapplications")pub(nature)pbloc(netherlands)

Date range searching is supported.
Date range searching is supported.

© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Field Name

Field
Code

Publisher name

PB

Report number

RP

SubfileFSU

ExampleDescription and Notes

pb(elsevier)pb("wuhan university")rp(iet-tv.44.9563)
fsu("electrical and electronicengineering")
fsu("information technology forbusiness")
fsu("mechanical and productionengineering")
fsu("computing and control
engineering")
fsu(“physics”)

For dissertation-type records the publisher namefield contains the university name.

Subject1

SU

su("mechanical engineering")

Main subject

SUBT

subt(“evolutionary
computation”)

Substance

Summary Language

SUBST

subst("si-al-au int")
subst("ce - el")subst("si - int" and "si - el")subst(fe and si)
subst(gaas bin)

You can also select these from the list of
subfiles on the Advanced Search page.
A record may appear in more than one subfile.

SU retrieves data from multiple fields including
Subject, Identifier (keyword), Classification (text
only)
SUBT searches terms from the Subject display
field only.
Terms selected from the Subject filter use the
SUBT field code.
Available in some records from January 1987
onwards.
Chemical indexing is structured to search boththe substance(s) and/or role(s). Refer to“Chemical Indexing Roles” below.
See also Chemical Indexing, CI.
Language of abstract. All abstracts are in
English.

SLsl(english)

URL

URL

url(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/dec
ember02/rauber/12rauber.html)
av(http://www.dlib.org/dlib/dec
ember02/rauber/12rauber.html)

UpdatedUDud(2013-12-12)

VolumeVOvo(42)

Also searchable using field code AV.
The date(s) the record was loaded as a result ofan update provided by the supplier.
Also searchable on the Look Up Citation page.

1

A Lookup/Browse feature is available for this field in the Advanced Search dropdown or in Browse Fields.
2
Click the “Field codes” hyperlink at the top right of the Advanced Search page. Click “Search syntax and field codes”, then click on“FDB command” to get a list of database names and codes that can be searched with FDB.

7

© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Search tools
In addition to Search Fields, other tools available for searching are Limit options, Browse Fields, “Narrow results by”
Filters, and Look Up Citation. Each is listed separately below. Some data can be searched using more than one tool.

Limit options
Limit options are quick and easy ways of searching certain common concepts. Limit check boxes are available for:
Abstract included
Short lists of choices are available for:Document type, Language, Document treatment, Subfile
Date limiters are available in which you can select single dates or ranges for date of publication and updated.

Browse fields
You can browse the contents of certain fields by using Look up lists. These are particularly useful to validate spellings or
the presence of specific data. Terms found in the course of browsing may be selected and automatically added to the
Advanced Search form. Look up lists are available in the fields drop-down:
Author, Classifications, Major Classifications
and in the fields drop-down only for:
Authors, Publication title

Thesaurus
The Inspec Thesaurus is available by clicking on the “Thesaurus” hyperlink on the right-hand side of the Advanced and theCommand Line search pages. Thesaurus terms may be searched within the thesaurus, then selected to be added
automatically to the search form.

“Narrow Results By” filters
When results of a search are presented, the results display is accompanied by a list of “Narrow results by” options shownon the right-hand panel. Click on any of these options and you will see a ranked list showing the most frequently occurring
terms in your results. Click on the term to apply it to (“narrow”) your search results. “Narrow results by” filters in Inspec
include:Author, Classification, Classification (IPC), Document type, Language, Publication date, Publication title, Source type,and Subject

Look up citation
If you need to trace a particular bibliographic reference, use the Look Up Citation feature. Find a link to this toward the top
left of the Advanced Search page, or in the drop list under Advanced on any search form; click this and you will go to aform where you can enter any known details of the citation, including document title, author, journal name, volume, issue,
page, publication date, ISSN.

8© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

International Patent Classification (IPC)
IPC classification codes may be applied to ALL record types – not just patent records. Searching with IPC codes is an
ideal way to link the non-patent literature content of Inspec with Dialog's patent collection. Finding research and prior art
relating to filed patents is simplified by the presence of IPC codes in Inspec records. Note that IPC codes are mapped toInspec's own classification coding system; since IPC coding is very precise, there may not always be a one-to-one match,so you should use broader IPC codes to ensure accurate retrieval.
The following is a link to WIPO's own IPC classification look-up. It is arranged hierarchically. Use this tool to findappropriate codes for searching: https://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/ipcpub).

Chemical Indexing Roles
Chemical indexing is displayed in the Substance field and is searchable with the SUBST and CI field codes. The following
roles are also searchable:
ADS
BIN
DOP
EL
INT
SS
SUR

Adsorbate or any sorbate (i.e., any species being (ad)sorbed onto a substrate)
Binary system (2 elements, whether compound or alloy, and regardless of the relative proportions of
the two)
DopantElement
Interface system
System with three or more components
Surface or substrate

Roles can be searched on their own – e.g. SUBST(INT), or in combination with an element or molecule – e.g.
SUBST(“H2SO4 – SS”)

Numeric indexing
Numeric data, such as temperature, pressure, frequency, etc., are indexed for many records added to Inspec since
February 1987.
Values are presented in floating point format, e.g. 1.8E+04 for 18000 and 9.5E-01 for 0.95.
For search purposes, do NOT use the ‘+’ sign, and leading zeroes are optional – ie. to retrieve the specific displayed valueof ‘1.8E+04’ search as ‘1.8E4’ or ‘18000’.
However, you MUST use the ‘-‘ symbol to retrieve decimal values – ie. to retrieve the specific displayed value of ‘9.5E-01’
search as ‘0.95’ or ‘9.5E-1’.
When searching ranges, use a hyphen (dash) between the values searched WITHOUT a space either side of the hyphen:
NIDI(5-50) or NIDI(5E0-5E1) to retrieve any records with a Distance numeric value between 5m - 50m.
NICD(0.0000001-0.0001) or NICD(1.0E-7-1.0E-4) to retrieve any records with a Conductance numeric value
between 0.0000001Siemens - 0.0001Siemens.
Refer to the table below for examples of numeric searching.

9© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Numeric indexing type

Field
Code
nitypeAge (yr; Year)
Altitude (m; Meter)
Apparent power (VA; Volt-amp)
Bandwidth (Hz; Hertz)
Bit rate (Bit/s; Bits per Second)
Byte rate (Byte/s; Bytes per Second)
Capacitance (F; Farad)
Computer execution rate (IPS; Instructions/Second)
Computer speed (FLOPS)
Conductance (S; Siemens)
Current (A; Ampere)
Depth (m; Meter)
Distance (m; Meter)
Efficiency (Percent)Electrical conductivity (S/m; Siemens per Meter)
Electron volt energy (eV; Electron Volt)
Energy (J; Joule)
Frequency (Hz; Hertz)
Gain (dB; Decibel)
Galactic distance (pc; Parsec)
Geocentric distance (m; Meter)
Heliocentric distance (AU; Astronomical Unit)
Loss (dB; Decibel)
Magnetic flux density (T; Tesla)
Mass (kg; Kilogram)
Memory size (Byte)
Noise figure (dB; Decibel)
Picture size (pixel; Picture Element)
Power (W; Watt)
Pressure (Pa; Pascal)
Printer speed (cps; Characters per Second)
Radiation absorbed dose (Gy; Gray)
Radiation dose equivalent (Sv; Sievert)
Radiation exposure (C/kg; Coulomb per Kilogram)Radioactivity (Bq; Becquerel)
Reactive power (VAr; Volt-Amp Reactive)
Resistance (ohm)Resistivity, electrical (ohmm; Ohm meter)
Size (m; Meter)
Stellar mass, Msol; Solar Mass)
Storage capacity (Bit)Temperature (K; Kelvin)
Time (s; Second)

niag
nial
niap
nibw
nibi
niby
nica
nice
nicm
nicd
nicu
nidp
nidi
nief
niel
niev
nien
nifr
niga
nigd
nige
nihd
nils
nimd
nima
nims
ninf
nipx
nipo
nipr
nips
nira
nird
nirx
niry
nirp
nire
nier
nisi
nism
nisr
nite
nitm

Field and SI unit

10

Examplenitype(altitude), nitype("apparent power"),
nitype("galactic distance"), nitype("electron volt
energy"), nitype(mass not "stellar mass"),
nitype(resistivity), etc.
niag(2-5)
nial(2E4-9E5)
niap(3E6)
nibw(4.0E8)
nibi(64000)
niby(10E6)
nica(3.0E-11)
nice(1E7)
nicm(1.5E10)
nicd(1.0E-7-1.0E-4)
nicu(5.6E-3)
nidp(2E4-9E5)
nidi(0.002), nidi(2E-3)
nief(1.0E1), nief(10)niel(1.0E1)
niev(1.07-1.82)
nien(0.5)
nifr(5.2E9)
niga(2.03E1)
nigd(1.2E5)
nige(3E7)
nihd(5E1)
nils(1.5E1)
nimd(1E-2)
nima(2.4E-3-2.42E-1)
nims(>=3E7)
ninf(5-7)
nipx(1.28E2)
nipo(5.0E2), nipo(500)nipr(1.3E-3), nipr(0.0013)
nips(2.7E2)
nira(2)nird(1.0E-3)
nirx(<=0.1)
niry(4.0E4)
nirp(<=3.0E8)
nire(7E-5)nier(5.0E-3), nier(0.005)
nisi(1.0E-6)
nism(1.1E1), nism(11)nisr(1.0E6)
nite(3.26E2)
nitm(1.35E-1)© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.

Field
Code
nive
nivo
niwa
niwl

Field and SI unit
Velocity (m/s; Meters per Second)
Voltage (V; Volt)
Wavelength (m; Meter)
Word length (Bit)

Examplenive(1.0E4)
nivo(>=10000)
niwa(1.1E-6)
niwl(32-128)

Document formats
Document Format

FieldsBrief view

Title and Publication date.

ü

Detailed view

Same as Brief view plus a 3-line KWIC window.

ü

KWIC (Keyword in Context)
Preview

OnlineDetailed view plus all occurrences of your searchterms, highlighted within the fields where the terms
occur.
Title, Author, Publication title, Publisher, Volume,
Issue, Pagination, Publication date, Abstract.

ü

Export /Downloadüü

Brief citation

Complete record minus Abstract and IndexingüüCitation / Abstract

Complete record

ü1ü

CustomChoose the fields you want.

ü2

1

In Online-view mode, Dialog gives access to two Document Formats only: Brief citation, and the ‘most complete’ format
available. Depending on the database, or the amount of data available for a record, the most complete format may be any one of
Citation, Citation/Abstract, Full text, or Full text – PDF.
2
Custom export/download format is available in the following mediums only: HTML, PDF, RefWorks, RTF, Text only, XLS.

Terms & Conditions
No special terms and conditions.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (noSC038698).
Dialog Standard Terms & Conditions apply.

Contact Dialog Global Customer Support
Email: Customer@dialog.com
Within North America 1 800 3 DIALOG (334 2564)
Outside North America 00 800 33 DIALOG (33 34 2564)

11© 2023 Clarivate. Clarivate and its logo, as well as all other trademarks usedherein are trademarks of their respective owners and used under license.