Last Updated: 2024-10-28
To help everyone discover IISD-ELA publications, we have compiled an online publications database on Google Sheets and developed a search interface to that database using the open-source Python framework called streamlit. The search interface has been deployed on Streamlit Community Cloud and embedded into a the IISD Website for all users to access.
- The publications search engine can be accessed via the source IISD-ELA search engine on Streamlit Community Cloud or an embed on a Publications page of the IISD website. By default, the search engine will display a catalogue of all quality-checked publications in the backend Google Sheet database.
- The search results can be narrowed down by search tags of interest using the "Search by data types", "Search by environmental issues", "Search by lakes", and "Search by authors" functions. When multiple of these tags are chosen, the search engine will display publications that match any of the tags you selected.
- The search results can also be filtered using the "Filter by author type", "Year start", "Year end", and "General search" functions. When these filters are used, the search engine will only display publications that meet the selected or entered filter criteria.
- In addition, the user can search publications by any keyword that may not appear in the publication texts themselves (e.g., "eutrophication", "cyanobacteria") using the "General search" function as most backend records are tagged with additional keywords that may be included with the publication metadata.
- In all cases, the returned publications will be sorted in alphabetical order and formatted following the APA 7th edition citation rules.
- To examine the tags associated with each publication, the user can hover above the question mark icons found next to each publication.
The publications data for this search engine is pulled directly from a private backend Google Sheet using Google Sheet APIs. This database is updated on an ongoing basis, in an effort to include all IISD-ELA publications.
Please note that the wake-up.yml file is a modified version of this file, the streamlit_app.py is a modified version of this file, and the wake_up_streamlit.py is an exact copy of this file.
├── README.md <- File containing general background information on the IISD-ELA
│ publications search interface including motivation, usage,
│ and data source.
├── backend
│ ├── pubs_database_script.py <- Backend Python code for the IISD-ELA publications search interface.
│ │ It also contains useful comments and function descriptions for
│ │ understanding the code.
│ └── requirements.txt <- The requirements file for reproducing the streamlit app.
├── .streamlit
│ ├── config.toml <- File that configures aspects of the IISD-ELA publications
│ └── search interface (e.g., color theme)
├── .github/workflows
│ └── wake-up.yml <- The GitHub Actions workflow configuration file that keeps the IISD-ELA
│ │ publications search interface awake by calling wake_up_streamlit.py
│ │ everyday at 12:30 UTC (7:30 AM CDT or 8:30 AM CST) or on push events
│ │ to the main branch. The log file for each run is uploaded as an artifact.
├── streamlit_app.py <- File containing the global URL for the IISD-ELA publications search
│ interface.
├── wake_up_streamlit.py <- The Python script that wakes up the IISD-ELA search interface.
└── .gitignore <- The file that tells git to ignore the secrets.toml file that this app
requires to run successfully.
If you encounter any issues or bugs, or would like to receive additional information about this search engine, please contact us at [email protected].