Search with a plan, cite with a receipt.

Classes + fields = fewer misses.

Academic & Patent Search — Digital Training That Produces Evidence, Not Guesswork

You’re not looking for another inspirational thread about “doing research.” You need verifiable sources, traceable queries, and documentation you can hand to a colleague, supervisor, or counsel without explanation. This homepage introduces a library of digital-only resources for Academic/Patent Search: focused lessons, worksheets, query logs, PRISMA-style trackers, CPC/IPC quick cards, and clean templates you can deploy the same day. Everything is designed to deliver reproducible findings—fast, defensibly, and with zero subscription bloat.

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Logs on, confusion off.

We turn the messy reality of scholarly and patent discovery into repeatable workflows. Our materials show you how to:

  • Decompose a question into concepts, synonyms, and controlled vocabulary terms before a single query.
  • Translate strategies across engines and databases (e.g., Google Scholar, Crossref, PubMed, IEEE Xplore; Patent Public Search, Espacenet, Patentscope) without changing meaning.
  • Combine keywords with classifications (CPC/IPC) to catch what sloppy text queries miss.
  • Map a topic with backward/forward citation chaining and keep a transparent screening trail.
  • Capture legal status, family relationships, and priority dates so you know what actually matters.
  • Maintain a search log that records strings, fields, classes, limits, decisions, and reasons—so another analyst can rerun it and match your results.
  • Deduplicate exports and merge metadata cleanly; your counts will stay honest when you present your table.
  • Build briefs that separate findings from opinions and tie each claim to at least one source.

There’s no magic. Just methods that hold up under scrutiny.

Evidence first, adjectives later.
Scholar for signals, status for stakes.
From seed paper to solid map.

Sample Pathways

Academic Discovery Starter: Build a concept map, draft a cross-database string, run a first pass, screen with the rubric, log decisions, and produce a two-page brief by afternoon.

Patent Fundamentals Sprint: Pivot a text idea into CPC/IPC, filter by priority date and assignee, triage claims on first read, record statuses, and export a tidy family table.

Systematic Quick-Map: Choose one seed article, do backward and forward chaining, cluster keywords, and draw a PRISMA-lite diagram—one hour, tight scope, high clarity.

Families tell the real story.

Translate the query, not the intent.

Use Cases You Can Run This Week

1) Rapid Literature Baseline (Half-Day): Start with a seed paper, run backward and forward chaining, screen with the rubric, export to RIS, deduplicate, and produce a two-page brief plus reading list.

2) Patent Slice with Classes (One Afternoon): Draft a text query, pivot to CPC/IPC using representative records, filter by assignee and priority date, and output a small set of families with status notes and claims-first summaries.

3) Bridge from Paper to Patent (Three Hours): Identify overlapping inventors/authors, trace citations, build the DOI–patent number–family ID crosswalk, and outline a maturation narrative with cautious readiness labels.

4) Alert-Ready Monitoring (Ninety Minutes): Save clean strategies in Scholar, Crossref, and Espacenet; set weekly alerts; create a single-page triage sheet to classify incoming items by “read now,” “file,” or “reject.”

We are a small group of information practitioners with mixed backgrounds in library science, IP research, product analysis, and editorial review. We value clarity over drama. Our materials are built from real workflows used to brief executives, inform R&D choices, and prepare for professional legal review. We keep examples vendor-neutral, admit uncertainty when signals are weak, and push for documentation that a stranger can pick up months later and still follow.