Mike Hill (NPDN IT Director, CERIS-Purdue University)
The Communicator: Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2024
This month’s edition focuses on tips for searching the NPDN National Data Repository (NDR). Did you know that several of the reports will keep your search history so that you can easily switch between those reports without needing to re-enter your criteria? The two reports where this is the most impactful are the selectable fields and summary data reports. These reports also share the same search options as shown in Figure 1.
It is important to remember that when searching for a pest and/or a host you can only search by the taxonomic name. You must first select the genus and then the species field will automatically populate with the species associated with it. If you encounter issues finding the name in the dropdown list, then a quick search of the pest or host dictionary should make it easier to find the taxonomic name.
Another useful tip to keep in mind is the differences between how the region and state searches function in the NDR. A common misconception is that the states reported will be restricted to the region. However, the state is associated with the sample's location while the region is associated with the labs in that region. In other words, if a lab diagnosed a sample for a state outside of their region that state would show up on a report for that region.
The circled area in the figure below shows the toggle for the advanced criteria that are available and can be useful for tracking down specific samples. One of the most useful fields in this section is the pest confidence filter, which will let you narrow your results down to a specific confidence level like Confirmed.
Search Criteria for NDR reports
