United States Environmental Protection Ag e n cy ECOTOX Knowledgebase ReferenceGuide www.epa.gov/ecotox EPA/600/F-18/173 General Guidance on Searches / Navigation / Explore / Help: The "Search" function is designed to query the data if the exact search parameters are known. Data can be restricted or refined by setecting additional search parameters. It is recommended that you conduct general searches initially, and filter or refine if the data set is too large. Using your browser's Back button will result in the loss of all entries made in any of the ECOTOX forms. An alternative is to use the "Explore" function to determine what data may be in the Knowledgebase. The "Explore" function allows you to search ECOTOX for data if exact search parameters are not known, or would like a visual representation of the data. This is a great starting point for filtering the data prior to running a search. Search logic includes two basic strategies: combination/union and intersection. Within a search selection box, the selections are combined. Between search selection boxes, the search will intersect. Context sensitive help is available by clicking on the "?" located within the Chemical, Effects, Species and Publication search parameters. The Help tab contains links to the complete User guide and Code Definition document. Researchers or managers using ECOTOX for analyses or summary projects should consult the original scientific paper to ensure an understanding of the context of the data retrieved. About Search The "Search" function is located within a single web page. Click on the plus sign next to each Search parameter to select or enter specific fields. Search parameters (you must select at least one parameter): All Chemicals (Names, CAS Registry numbers or predefined groups) All Effects (Search specific measurements or select major effect groups from a predefined list) All Endpoints (Select all or any endpoints, or statistics but no endpoint or endpoint is not reported (NR)) All Species (Taxonomic Kingdom, Scientific or common names, or predefined groups) All Test Conditions (Any or all lab and field studies, water and soil exposure and various control types and chemical analysis methods) All Publication Options (Search by year, author, datasets or specific ECOTOX data updates) Any selections made using multiple parameter search boxes within the search page will narrow the search result. Perform a search (Update Search): Once all parameters are selected or entered, click the "Update Search" button to apply the selection parameters and perform the search. Aquatic and Terrestrial reports are run separately. The search will run on the habitat that is selected (Aquatic or Terrestrial) at the time the "Update Search" button is clicked. Clicking to select the other habitat will automatically run that search provided no other changes were made to search parameters. < Chemicals Q, Name(s) or CAS number(s) O Contains Q Exact Match Enter each chemical name and/or CAS registry number on separate lines. < Effect Measurements Effect(s) (eg. food, vitellogenin, acetylcholine) O Contains O Exact Match Enter each effect measurement on separate lines. I I Include Delayed Effects Results D Any Effect Group Accumulation Group Behavior Group _| Avoidance J Behavior Feeding Behavior Growth Group I Developmental Q| Growth _| Morphological Mortality Group Update Search Aquatic Terrestrial Reports: All results initially display in HTML format. You can choose to export the report after the results are retrieved by selecting the "Export as..." button. Excel and delimited reports are available for selection. Reset All: Clears all Search parameters. IZ] Export as... x Reset All View All Applied: View the selected parameters. Can be exported to retain a record of the search. View All Applied For more information on the ECOTOX Knowledgebase: Telephone: 218 529 5225 Email: ecotox.support@epa.gov ------- ECOTOX Knowledgebase ReferenceGuide United States lgen?ymemal Protection www.epa.gov/ecotox EPA/600/F-18/173 About Explore Explore is a great tool for searching the ECOTOX Knowledgebase if you do not know the exact parameters you want to search, or would like a visual representation of general and specific data trends. It provides an interactive way to examine search paths by Chemicals, Species or Effects. The data can be visually examined with interactive plots. Searching in Explore is predominately driven by selecting predefined groups within each of the Chemicals, Species, and Effects pages. Within the Chemicals page, users are also able to customize queries by entering in CAS Registry Numbers. Querying and Filtering Data: To query the data, start by selecting the parameter of interest (Chemicals, Species or Effects). Select from the predefined lists, then click "Explore Data". Choose a stcrt/ng point below. cŁ° I 111 I Ž Cltemicals H Species H Effects Chemicals c-ť> All I Species Group Ť i) All Class ( i> All Explore Data > From the tables displayed for the Group Summary or Records, you can further refine the data by applying Query filters or selecting to include/exclude Aquatic or Terrestrial habitats. The following Query filter options are available: Chemicals: Within the Chemical filters, you may refine data to select one or more chemical names using control/click to highlight chemical(s) of interest. Species Group: Within the Species Group filter, you may refine data to select one or more group of species using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest. Family: Within the Family filter, you may refine data to select one or more family of species using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest. Genus: Within the Genus filter, you may refine data to select one or more genus of species using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest. Ž Species: Within the Species filter, you may refine data to select one or more species using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest. Effect Groups: Within the Effect Group filter, you may refine data to select one or more effect using control/click to highlight group(s) of interest. Effect Measurements: Within the Effect Measurements filter, you may refine data to select one or more effect using control/click to highlight measurement(s) of interest. Endpoints: Within the Endpoints filter, you may refine data to select one or more endpoint or group using control/click to highlight endpoint(s) of interest. Publication Years: You may refine output to selected range of Publication Years. Interactive Data Display: Once a query has been run, the data can be plotted and output refined further using the Query filters mentioned above. The Plot icon is located in the upper right-hand corner below the "Contact Us" link. The pre-defined options for these plots have Chemical concentration on the y-axis and either Effect Group or Exposure Duration on the x-axis. In the simplified Results Table below plot, data can be refined using test boxes above each column. Both table and plot can be exported, Table icon (to left of Plot icon) will return to Group Summary or Records table for query in "Explore". Al 1 Family -*> All M) All " | Specie's C-*> Alt Special Interest: Groups M) AH EGroups (i) All v Effect Mftasur6mts All "V Endpoints -*1 AH Publication Years I9J\S to | 20IŤ m Plot Icon E Table Icon G Export v Table as CSV Print Chart For more information on the ECOTOX Knowledgebase: Telephone: 218 529 5225 Email: ecotox.support@epa.gov ------- |