HELP for Searching TECH-Net Database
The TECH-Net system can be used to search for awards
information in multiple ways by using any or all of the
following types of information about the awards profiled in the system.
It is not necessary to fill out every part of the form.
Awards can be searched for using any of the following search criteria:
- location (state, congressional district, metropolitan statistical area)
- ownership data (minority owned, woman owned)
- keywords
- size
- name
Again, it is not necessary to fill out every part of the form but the
more criteria you specify in your searches, the more precisely your results
will match your needs.
SEARCH SCOPE
First, a definition:
A "Criteria Type" is any text entry box, check box, radio button pair or drop-down menu,
except for the following (which are options):
- the "At least" / "No more than" radio buttons
- the "Do 'sounds like' matching" / "Do 'first letters' matching" radio buttons
- the "Show these fields" check boxes
- the "Maximum number of firms to be displayed at a time" drop-down menu
This definition makes possible the following observations:
- The more Criteria Types you use, the narrower your search.
So, for example, if you check both the Minority and the Woman/Women check boxes,
you will be searching for companies owned by minority women,
not companies owned either by a minority or by a woman/women.
- Within a Criteria Type, the more values you enter, the wider your search.
So, for example, if you enter "mosquito, malaria, anopheles" in the Keywords field,
you will be searching for awards that have mention mosquito, malaria or anopheles as one of their keywords.
SEARCH CRITERIA
Explanations of the different fields
Location:
State(s) -
If you want a nation wide search, leave this field blank (do not select any states).
To select a particular state, click on the line corresponding to that state.
To select multiple states:
Windows users must hold down the <CTRL> key and click on each additional state selection.
NOTE: If you don't hold down the <CTRL> key when selecting multiple states,
you will only be able to select one state at a time.
Each state selected in the search will appear highlighted when chosen.
To deselect a state, hold down the <CTRL> key
and click on the highlighted state you wish to deselect.
Mac users must hold down the "Control" key
and click on each additional state selection.
The Control key is usually next to the spacebar
and contains a cloverleaf, apple and/or the word "Alt".
NOTE: If you don't hold down the Control key when selecting multiple states,
you will only be able to select one state at a time.
Each state selected in the search will appear highlighted when chosen.
To deselect a state, hold down the Control key
and click on the highlighted state you wish to deselect.
Unix users can simply click states.
To deselect a state, simply click it again.
All users can hold down the Shift key to select a contiguous range of states.
For example, if you click on Alabama and then Shift-click on Connecticut,
you will select every state from Alabama to Connecticut.
Zip Code -
Enter 1 to 5 digits.
A partial Zip Code searches for all awards which BEGIN with that partial Zip Code.
So, "207" finds all Zips in the range of 20700 through 20799, inclusive.
Ownership Data:
TECH-Net allows searches based on small business ownership information.
Multiple criteria can be utilized in this selection option.
To include a criterion based on a particular ownership,
simply click on the corresponding box of the search element you want to include.
You may choose more than one item.
A check-mark will appear in the boxes of the search items chosen.
To deselect an item, click on the box of the check-marked item.
If you do not wish to search by this criterion, leave the fields blank.
Keywords:
Awards profiled in the TECH-Net system can be searched using keywords.
A maximum of 25 keywords can be used.
This field is meant to assist you in narrowing your search.
Enter up to 25 keywords associated with the procurement information you are searching.
Keywords are not "case sensitive"
(both Software and software would return the same results).
Like other codes, keywords must be comma-separated.
An example of a keyword search might be as follows:
computer, hardware, repair
In this example, the system would look for awards which contained the
words "computer", "hardware" or "repair" in
their keywords section,
ensuring that only awards listing
these words as part of their keyword descriptions are present in the search results.
Keywords are meant to be used as a way of narrowing a search.
If you do not wish to search by keywords, leave this field blank.
Size:
TECH-Net allows searches based on 2 size Criteria Types,
number of employees and award amount.
The "At least" / "No more than" radio buttons apply to both.
If you do not wish to search by these criteria,
leave the fields set to the default setting of Any.
Maximum number of firms to be displayed at a time:
You have the option of displaying search results in sets of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25,
50, 75, 100, 200 or 500 for each search.
The default setting of 25 will display up to 25 firms per table.
SEARCH RESULTS
TECH-Net database search results will appear in a table format
and will list Award# (Award ID), company names, addresses and titles given.
For more detailed information about a company returned in the search,
click on the Award ID hot link.
The structure of this page was last updated 02/10/2006, as part of TECH-Net 4.0.