The present invention relates to the field of computer science. More particularly, the present invention relates to searching research data.
Traditional search engines such as Yahoo™ or Google™ provide text-based search results that are often marginally useful because irrelevant information is often included in the search results, and because relevant information must be pieced together manually from multiple sources and then formatted to create useful search results. This process is cumbersome and error-prone.
Additionally, traditional search engines are typically limited to searching information in the public domain, such as public Web sites, press releases, free reports, and free presentations. However, most data is not in the public domain, so typical search engines cannot access the data. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved solution for searching research data.
Rendering a research data-related information includes presenting a research data supplier interface for a research data supplier interested in providing research data to be searched by a research data user interested in searching research data, and presenting a research data user interface for the research data user.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.
In the drawings:
Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of searching research data. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.
In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the components, process steps, and/or data structures may be implemented using various types of operating systems (OS), computing platforms, firmware, computer programs, computer languages, and/or general-purpose machines. The method can be run as a programmed process running on processing circuitry. The processing circuitry can take the form of numerous combinations of processors and operating systems, connections and networks, data stores, or a stand-alone device. The process can be implemented as instructions executed by such hardware, hardware alone, or any combination thereof. The software may be stored on a program storage device readable by a machine.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the components, processes and/or data structures may be implemented using machine language, assembler, C or C++, Java and/or other high level language programs running on a data processing computer such as a personal computer, workstation computer, mainframe computer, or high performance server running an OS such as Solaris® available from Sun Microsystems, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., Windows Vista™, Windows NT®, Windows XP, Windows XP PRO, and Windows® 2000, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Apple OS X-based systems, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., or various versions of the Unix operating system such as Linux available from a number of vendors. The method may also be implemented on a multiple-processor system, or in a computing environment including various peripherals such as input devices, output devices, displays, pointing devices, memories, storage devices, media interfaces for transferring data to and from the processor(s), and the like. In addition, such a computer system or computing environment may be networked locally, or over the Internet or other networks. Different implementations may be used and may include other types of operating systems, computing platforms, computer programs, firmware, computer languages and/or general-purpose machines; and. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that devices of a less general purpose nature, such as hardwired devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein.
In the context of the present invention, the term “network” includes local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), metro area networks, residential networks, corporate networks, inter-networks, the Internet, the World Wide Web, cable television systems, telephone systems, wireless telecommunications systems, fiber optic networks, token ring networks, Ethernet networks, ATM networks, frame relay networks, satellite communications systems, and the like. Such networks are well known in the art and consequently are not further described here.
In the context of the present invention, the term “identifier” describes an ordered series of one or more numbers, characters, symbols, or the like. More generally, an “identifier” describes any entity that can be represented by one or more bits.
In the context of the present invention, the term “processor” describes a physical computer (either stand-alone or distributed) or a virtual machine (either stand-alone or distributed) that processes or transforms data. The processor may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.
In the context of the present invention, the term “data stores” describes a hardware and/or software means or apparatus, either local or distributed, for storing digital or analog information or data. The term “Data store” describes, by way of example, any such devices as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), Flash memory, hard drives, disk drives, floppy drives, tape drives, CD drives, DVD drives, magnetic tape devices (audio, visual, analog, digital, or a combination thereof), optical storage devices, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), solid state memory devices and Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage devices, and the like. The term “Data store” also describes, by way of example, databases, file systems, record systems, object oriented databases, relational databases, SQL databases, audit trails and logs, program memory, cache and buffers, and the like.
In the context of the present invention, the term “network interface” describes the means by which users access a network for the purposes of communicating across it or retrieving information from it.
In the context of the present invention, the term “user interface” describes any device or group of devices for presenting and/or receiving information and/or directions to and/or from persons. A user interface may comprise a means to present information to persons, such as a visual display projector or screen, a loudspeaker, a light or system of lights, a printer, a Braille device, a vibrating device, or the like. A user interface may also include a means to receive information or directions from persons, such as one or more or combinations of buttons, keys, levers, switches, knobs, touch pads, touch screens, microphones, speech detectors, motion detectors, cameras, and light detectors. Exemplary user interfaces comprise pagers, mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, handheld and palm computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), keyboards, keypads, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), control panels, horns, sirens, alarms, printers, speakers, mouse devices, consoles, and speech recognition devices.
In the context of the present invention, the term “system” describes any computer information and/or control device, devices or network of devices, of hardware and/or software, comprising processor means, data storage means, program means, and/or user interface means, which is adapted to communicate with the embodiments of the present invention, via one or more data networks or connections, and is adapted for use in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention.
Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner. Also, it is not necessary for all of the devices shown in
User interface 210 is coupled to search term parser 204, chart generator 212, and network 220, and is configured to receive one or more unconstrained search terms from user 218, send the one or more unconstrained search terms to search term parser 204, receive rendered search results from chart generator 212, and send the rendered search results to user 218 via network 220.
Indexer 202 is coupled to data supplier interface 226 and data library 222 and is configured to parse a file defined by a markup language that describes how to access a database, the structure of the database, the content of the database, and the content of individual columns of the database. Indexer 202 is further configured to translate the structure and one or more keyword descriptions of the content into a hierarchical vocabulary. A hierarchical vocabulary suitable for embodiments of the present invention is described further below. Indexer 202 is further configured to index the file index based upon successful completion of the parsing.
Data library 222 is coupled to indexer 220 and search engine 206 and is configured to store one or more indexed data store descriptions. Data library 222 may be any type of data store.
Search engine 206 is coupled to search term parser 204, data library 222, and chart generator 212, and is configured to receive one or more search parameters describing desired data, identify one or more columns of tables of one or more databases that comprise data relevant to the one or more search parameters, and dynamically construct instructions for extracting the data from one or more databases hosted on the one or more platforms.
Search term parser 204 is coupled to user interface 210 and search engine 206, and is configured to receive research data structured according to a markup language, translate the structure and one or more keyword descriptions of the content into a hierarchical vocabulary, and create one or more coded files containing the translation results.
Chart generator 212 is coupled to user interface 210 and search engine 206 and is configured to receive meta-data describing search results for desired research data residing in one or more databases hosted on one or more platforms, apply one or more rules to the meta-data to determine a report type, and extract the research data from the one or more databases. Chart generator 212 is further configured to create a report according to the report type for the research data.
In operation, data supplier interface 226 receives a file defined by a markup language that describes how to access a database, the structure of the database, the content of the database, and the content of individual columns of the database. Indexer 202 parses the file. Indexer 202 also translates the structure and one or more keyword descriptions of the content into a hierarchical vocabulary. Indexer 202 also indexes the file index based upon successful completion of the parsing. Indexer 202 also stores one or more indexed data store descriptions in data library 222.
User interface 210 receives one or more unconstrained search terms from user 218, sends the one or more unconstrained search terms to search term parser 204, receives rendered search results from chart generator 212, and sends the rendered search results to user 218 via network 220.
Search engine 206 receives one or more search parameters describing desired data, identifies one or more columns of tables of one or more databases that comprise data relevant to the one or more search parameters, and dynamically constructs instructions for extracting the data from one or more databases hosted on the one or more platforms.
Search term parser receives research data structured according to a markup language, translates the structure and one or more keyword descriptions of the content into a hierarchical vocabulary, and creates one or more coded files containing the translation results.
Chart generator 212 receives meta-data describing search results for desired research data residing in one or more databases hosted on one or more platforms, applies one or more rules to the meta-data to determine a report type, extracts the research data from the one or more databases, and creates a report according to the report type for the research data.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the search engine retains a portion of the proceeds from the sale of a data supplier's data as a fixed percentage of the data supplier's sales through the platform.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, payment of a commission for sales of data through the search engine is apportioned between a data supplier and a search engine provider based at least in part on which entity hosts the data. According to another embodiment of the present invention, payment of a commission for sales of data through the search engine is apportioned between a data supplier and a search engine provider based at least in part on which entity codes the data.
Example mathematical functions to be executed (1200) include simple arithmetic functions such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. Example mathematical functions to be executed (1200) also include statistical operations such as mean, median, standard deviation, and the like. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other mathematical functions may be used.
Example periods of time for which data is sought include a period specified in terms of a beginning time and an ending time. The time may be expressed using various levels of granularity, such as millennium, decade, year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, or fraction of a second. Another example period of time for which data is sought includes a period beginning with a specified time. Another example period of time for which data is sought includes a period ending with a specified time. Another example period of time for which data is sought includes a window of time that includes a specified time.
Example geographic areas for which data is sought include the universe, a galaxy, a planet, a hemisphere, a continent, a country, a state, a province, a county, a district, a metropolis, a city, a postal code, a geocode such as a (latitude, longitude) pair, a town, a village, a city block, or one or more addresses.
Example scales for use in expressing data which is sought include a linear scale or a logarithmic scale.
Example intervals into which data across a period is broken includes intervals delineated by millenniums, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, or fractions of a-second.
Referring again to
At 1315, meanings for each of the phrases are identified. The meanings are identified by looking them up in a knowledge base, resulting in an indication of whether a particular phrase represents one or more of the following: a category, a keyword, a geolocation, or the phrase does not exist in the knowledge base. The meanings for multiple phrases may be represented in a phrase-meaning table. Continuing the example of
Referring again to
Referring again to
Example keywords associated with a “frequency distribution” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Cross-tab” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Juxtapose” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Breakdown” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Comparison” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Growth” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “CiGR” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Sum” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with an “Average” function are illustrated in
Example keywords associated with a “Divide” function are illustrated in
If a token is associated with a function module, additional analysis specific to the function module is performed on the search term. According to one embodiment of the present invention, if none of the tokens activate any function module identified in
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a function module determines whether a token string includes a specification of a date by receiving a set of valid date formats, determining whether the token string includes a substring that matches a valid date format, and removing any date prefix from the token substring. Example date prefixes include “in,” “during,” and “for.”
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a function module determines whether a token string includes a specification of a time interval by receiving a set of valid time interval formats, determining whether the token string includes a substring that matches a valid time interval format.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a function module determines whether a token string includes a specification of a scale by receiving a set of valid scale formats, determining whether the token string includes a substring that matches a valid scale format. Example valid scale formats are shown in
Still referring to
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the number of search results is estimated prior to constructing instructions for extracting data from the one or more databases (1908).
According to one embodiment of the present invention, step 2106 includes generating one or more thumbnail charts. According to another embodiment of the present invention, step 2106 includes generating one or more preview charts. According to another embodiment of the present invention, step 2106 includes generating one or more final charts.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a line chart is a two-dimensional chart for use in displaying trends and time-series of data. Additional characteristics of line charts include line characteristics and point characteristics. Line characteristics describe the color, style and thickness of the line connecting the points along the chart. Point characteristics describe the color, style, and size of the point placed at each data point along the x-axis.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a bar chart is a two-dimensional chart with categories along the y-axis and numerical values along the x-axis. Data is represented as a bar stretching horizontally across the chart area. Additional characteristics of bar charts include border characteristics, area characteristics, gap width, and sort order. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar. Gap width describes the width between each bar displayed on the chart. Sort order describes the order in which bars are sorted. According to one embodiment of the present invention, sorting is done by default in descending order. The sorting order is configurable.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a column chart is a two-dimensional chart with categories or periods along the x-axis and numerical values along the y-axis. Data is represented as a bar stretching vertically up the chart area. Column charts may display multiple series of data simultaneously, provided they are displayed in the same scale. Additional characteristics of column charts include border characteristics, area characteristics, gap width, and sort order. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar. Gap width describes the width between each bar displayed on the chart. Sort order describes the order in which bars are sorted.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a 3D-column chart is a three-dimensional chart with categories or periods along the x-axis, numerical values along the y-axis, and additional categories or series along the z-axis. Data is represented as a three-dimensional bar stretching vertically up the chart area. 3D-Column charts may display multiple series of data simultaneously, provided they are displayed in the same scale. Additional characteristics of 3D-column charts include border characteristics, area characteristics, gap width, gap depth, 3D-Rotation, and sort order. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar. Gap width describes the width between each bar displayed on the chart. Gap depth describes the amount of “vertical” (along the z-axis) space between different bars that are parallel (for identical x-axis values). 3D-Rotation describes a series of values denoting the rotation, pitch and yaw of the 3D chart itself. These values describe the angle from which the chart is viewed. Sort order describes the order in which bars are sorted.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a pie chart is a one-dimensional chart that displays a round circle which is divided into segments, each segment denoting a value of the broader whole. Each data point is a segment on the circle. Pie charts can display only one series of data at a time. Additional characteristics of pie charts include pie characteristics, border characteristics, and area characteristics. Pie characteristics describe the border around the entire pie (color, style, and thickness), the rotation of the first segment of the pie from a natural 90-degree angle and the sort order for data points within the pie. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a stacked bar chart is a two-dimensional chart with categories along the y-axis and numerical values along the x-axis. Data is represented as a bar stretching horizontally across the chart area. Stacked bar charts display multiple series of data simultaneously, provided these series share x-values and are displayed on the same scale. Additional characteristics of stacked bar charts include border characteristics, area characteristics, gap width, category sort order, series sort order, and series line characteristics. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar. Gap width describes the width between each bar displayed on the chart. Specifically, gap width relates to the width of the gap between series. Category sort order describes the order in which bars are sorted. Series sort order describes the order in which series are sorted within a bar. Series line characteristics determines whether series lines connect each series in one bar (one data point) to the next related data point in the sequence. They also describe the characteristics of those series lines, such as color, thickness, and style.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a stacked column chart is a two-dimensional chart with categories or periods along the x-axis and numerical values along the y-axis. Data is represented as a bar stretching vertically up the chart area. Stacked column charts display multiple series of data simultaneously, with one series being stacked on the other, provided that they share x-values and are displayed on the same scale. Additional characteristics of stacked bar charts include border characteristics, area characteristics, gap width, category sort order, series sort order, and series line characteristics. Border characteristics describe the border around each bar (each data point). They describe the color, style, and thickness of the border. Area characteristics describe the interior of each bar (each data point). They describe the fill color of each bar. Gap width describes the width between each bar displayed on the chart. Specifically, gap width relates to the width of the gap between series. Category sort order describes the order in which bars are sorted. Series sort order describes the order in which series are sorted within a bar. Series line characteristics determines whether series lines connect each series in one bar (one data point) to the next related data point in the sequence. They also describe the characteristics of those series lines, such as color, thickness, and style.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a scatter chart is a two-dimensional chart which displays categories or series as data points. Scatter charts are used when each category or series has two numerical values that must be displayed. Scatter charts may display multiple series of data simultaneously, provided that they are displayed on the same scale. Additional characteristics of scatter charts include line characteristics and point characteristics. Line characteristics describe the color, style, and thickness of the line connecting the points along the chart. Point characteristics describe the color, style, and size of the data points for a given series.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a default chart type is selected to reflect the structure and content of the data that the chart will display.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, different series are assigned different colors. According to another embodiment of the present invention, each series is assigned a different color in order of priority according to a color scheme.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, line styles are rotated when all colors of a particular color scheme have been used. If a chart has several series and all colors of a color scheme have been used, subsequent series are assigned a different line style, and the line color of subsequent series begins with the first color.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a chart that displays multiple series also displays a legend showing which colors/formatting applies to which series. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the positioning of the legend on the chart is based at least in part on the number of series present on the chart.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a chart displays the data source for the information displayed in the chart.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, display of one or more of the following is based at least in part on the chart type: chart title, chart area border, x-axis title, x-axis major tick marks, x-axis minor tick marks, x-axis labels, y-axis title, y-axis major tick marks, y-axis minor tick marks, y-axis labels, z-axis title, z-axis major tick marks, z-axis minor tick marks, z-axis labels, major gridlines, minor gridlines, data point titles, and data point values.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the scale of the numerical axis (x- or y-axis depending on the chart type) is determined based at least in part on the values of the data points in the final dataset. The scale of the axis is determined by one or more of the following:
Still referring to
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the title of the chart is determined by removing from the search term, keywords that were not found in the relevant dataset.
Still referring to
If at 2618 any row labels contain time-periods, “null” values are converted to “0” at 2622. If at 2628 the mean percentage of cells in each column or row whose values are the “null” value, is less than or equal to 50%, “null” values are converted to “0” at 2622.
If at 2630 the number of column-labels is less than or equal to the number of row-labels, the table is rotated at 2632 so that column-labels become row-labels, and row-labels become column-labels. At 2634, a new sub-chart is defined for each row. At 2636, a determination is made regarding whether there is another sub-chart in the dataset. If there is another sub-chart in the dataset, it is processed beginning at reference numeral 2608. If there are no more sub-charts in the dataset, processing terminates.
If at 2810 it is determined that the dataset includes one or more merged sub-chart, y-axis and axis scale are determined at 2820. At 2825, a first sub-chart is selected. At 2840, a function is identified. At 2850, any function-specific subroutines are performed. At 2855, a determination is made regarding whether there is another sub-chart. If there is another sub-chart, the next sub-chart is selected at 2835, and processing of the next sub-chart continues at 2840. If there are no more sub-charts, the merged sub-charts are rendered at 2860.
If at 2910 it is determined that there is not more than one different value type in the dataset, at 2915 a determination is made regarding whether the range of the series with the largest range, divided by the median of the range, is greater than a predetermined number. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined number is four. If the answer is “yes,” at 2920 the series with the largest range is set to the secondary y-axis.
At 2935, a determination is made regarding whether there is another series. If there is another series, the series with the next-largest range is processed beginning at reference numeral 2915. If there are no more series, a primary y-axis is selected at 2940 and a secondary y-axis is selected ay 2945.
If at 2905 it is determined that there is only one series, at 2955 a determination is made regarding whether the order of the magnitude of the largest maximum for all series on the y-axis, minus the order of magnitude of the smallest minimum for all series on the y-axis, is greater than a predetermined number. If the answer is “yes,” at 2950 the y-axis is set to a logarithmic scale. If the answer at 2955 is “no,” at 2960 a determination is made regarding whether there is an unassigned secondary y-axis. If there is an unassigned secondary y-axis, a secondary y-axis is selected at 2945. If at 2960 there is no unassigned secondary y-axis, processing terminates.
If the Comparison function has been executed, it is processed at 3050. If the Rank function has been executed, it is processed at 3055. If the “Blank,” “Breakdown,” “Sum,” “Average,” or “Frequency Distribution” functions have been executed, at 3065, a determination is made regarding whether more than one y-axis has been created. If more than one y-axis has not been created, the “blank” function is processed at 3060. If at 3065 it is determined that more than one y-axis has been created, at 3070 the series groups on the primary y-axis are selected, and the selected series groups are processed at 3075. At 3080, the series groups on the secondary y-axis are selected. The selected series groups are processed at 3085.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the first sub-chart is positioned on the right at 3110, and at 3125, the sub-chart selected at 3120 is positioned to the left of the previously selected sub-chart.
If the answer at 3205 is “no,” at 3235 a determination is made regarding whether there are more than a first predetermined number of rows and more than a second predetermined number of rows. If there are less than the first predetermined number of rows but more than the second predetermined number of rows, the dataset is processed as a bar chart, beginning at reference numeral 3210. If there are more than the first predetermined number of rows, the dataset is processed as an AREA chart beginning at reference numeral 3245. If there are less than the second predetermined number of rows, the dataset is processed as a column chart beginning at reference numeral 3240.
At 3280, the y-axis title is set to blank. At 3285, the x-axis title is set to the column title.
If the x values are of type “PERIOD,” the x-axis is set as the date-time axis at 3400, the title of the x-axis is set to the column title at 3402, the x-axis minimum is set to the minimum of the x values at 3404, the x-axis maximum is set to the maximum of the x values at 3412, the x-axis interval is set to the interval calculated for the x-values at 3414, and the x-axis display format is set to the display format for the x-values at 3416.
At 3426, a determination is made regarding whether the y-axis is assigned to a logarithmic scale. If the y-axis is assigned to a logarithmic scale, the y-axis is set as the linear axis at 3428, the base of the y-axis is set to 0 at 3430, the minimum value of the y-axis is set to 0 at 3432, the maximum value of the y-axis is set to the maximum of all series data rounded up to the order of magnitude at 3434, and the y-axis interval is set to 10 at 3436.
If at 3426 it is determined that the y-axis is not assigned to a logarithmic scale, the y-axis is set as the logarithmic axis at 3440, the base of the y-axis is set to 0 at 3442, the minimum value of the y-axis is set to, 0 at 3444, the maximum value of the y-axis is set to 10 at 3446.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a data supplier solutions interface provides information for use by a research data supplier. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a software developer solutions interface provides information for use by a software developer in providing research data to be searched by a research data user. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a developer interface provides information about the development of a system for searching research data. The developer interface is for use by developers of the system itself, to aid developers in development of the system—a sort of “in-house” informational resource.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a search results interface for displaying a list of reports that match search criteria of the research data user. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a report preview interface for previewing a particular report in a list of reports, where the particular report is selected by the research data user. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a shopping cart interface for listing reports that the research data user has selected for purchase. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a sign-in interface for authenticating the research data user prior to the research data user purchasing one or more research data report. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a billing information interface for receiving billing information from the research data user. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes confirmation interface for presenting a summary of an order of the research data user prior to the research data user placing an order. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the research data user interface includes a library interface for presenting reports purchased by the research data user, receiving one or more profile edits from the research data user, and presenting a list of previous orders made by the research data user.
While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.
This application may be related to one or more of the following commonly assigned United States Patent Applications filed on even date herewith: Ser. No. ______, entitled “System for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0001 (038284-006); Ser. No. ______, entitled “Data Search Markup Language for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0002 (038284-007); Ser. No. ______, entitled “Indexer for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0003 (038284-008); Ser. No. ______, entitled “Search Term Parser for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0004 (038284-009); Ser. No. ______, entitled “Search Engine for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0005 (038284-010); and Ser. No. ______, entitled “Chart Generator for Searching Research Data” (Attorney Docket No. CHART-0006 (038284-011). The related applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth fully herein.