Before you logon to the Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS) , here are some tips which you might find useful to consider. Remember that this is a subscription service, so you must login from a UCI computer address. IRIS uses an intuitive interface with clear help text to aid first-time users. You can search on sponsors, deadlines, or keywords, among other terms, and you can sort by either sponsor or deadline.
Helpful Tips:
When specifying a keyword search (as opposed to the "Search All Categories" field), the IRIS Keyword Thesaurus is your best bet. Be aware that, like the Library of Congress catalogues, IRIS uses precise keywords that may or may not be the search words you might choose. Be aware that if you do not use the IRIS terminology, you may miss some excellent funding sources.
It is usually best not to initially narrow your search by too many categories, which can eliminate viable opportunities. For instance, if you are interested only in opportunities restricted to women, you should select "Women" as a specifier, but if you are looking for other opportunities that are open to both genders as well, limiting your search to women may eliminate some excellent sources. It is recommended that you choose only the keywords (or the keywords and the applicant type) for most searches. Finally, if your search turns up too few hits, you may have to broaden your search; e.g., search on "Chemistry" rather than "Organic Chemistry."
