CRIS Database of Marketing Research and Education Projects

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing research and education. CRIS contains more than 30,000 descriptions of current, publicly-supported research and education activities. This work is sponsored or conducted by USDA research agencies, state Agricultural Experiment Stations, state land-grant colleges and universities, state schools of forestry, cooperating schools of veterinary medicine, and USDA grant recipients.

NIFA's CRIS database contains information on thousands of NIFA-funded cooperative projects, including formula, competitively funded and special projects on:

• Market Economics;
• Marketing and Distribution Practices;
• International Trade and Development;
• Economic Theory and Methods;
• Domestic Policy Analysis; and
• Foreign Policy and Programs.

Searching the CRIS Database

To search the CRIS database, visit http://cris.nifa.usda.gov/. From the left navigation bar, select “Search CRIS Now.” Here you will find the three search areas: Full Text, Individual Data Fields, and Classification Codes. After choosing the appropriate search area and completing the search field click “Search” (do not press enter, this will result in a redirection to a help screen), you will then see records retrieved and the number of projects appear. Clicking on the "Display Results" button then retrieves the projects, using the search criteria and displays them on your browser in any of several formats.

The current Revision VII of the CRIS Manual of Classification is also found on the left navigation bar and is used to classify all records documented in CRIS. The classification codes are also used for retrieval purposes.

Full Text Search

In the top three entry boxes, "Full Text Terms," etc., you may enter whatever terms or keywords you choose to characterize the projects you wish to see. The text fields that are searched for your words or phrases are: Title, Objectives, Approach, Non-Technical Summary, Keywords, Progress, and Impact.

Individual Data Fields Search

The lower half of the search screen contains entry boxes corresponding to individual data fields or groups of fields of the CRIS database. You may wish to use only this section of the screen to search for projects by State/Country, Agency, Investigator, Project Type, and Status, etc. Fill out as many boxes as you wish, then click on any of the "Search" buttons.

CRIS Classification Codes Search

CRIS codes are used to search the database. The composite fields allow one to search alphanumeric codes in any of five different classification fields. The fields included are the three primary classifications (Knowledge Area, Field of Science, Subject of Investigation), and NIFA Strategic Goals and Objectives. Keywords can also be used in CRIS searches; however the codes are often easier to use.

The complete listing of classification codes for CRIS Knowledge Areas (along with short descriptions), subject codes (for example, for specific crops), and field of science codes is included in the CRIS Manual of Classification.

Every CRIS project contains at least one code from each of the three primary classifications and Strategic Goals. An example of each primary classification code is shown in the following table. Be sure to enter a space in between the letter and number in order to have an accurate search.

The following CRIS codes can be used to develop searches in areas relating to economics, markets and policy:

601. Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management

602. Business Management, Finance, and Taxation

603. Market Economics

604. Marketing and Distribution Practices

605. Natural Resource and Environmental Economics

606. International Trade and Development

607. Consumer Economics

608. Community Resource Planning and Development

609. Economic Theory and Methods

610. Domestic Policy Analysis

611. Foreign Policy and Programs

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