FPDS Query Library
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Field of Science or Engineering

This field identifies the field of science or engineering associated with the award in NASA-specific award elements. The example value indicates it is likely a coded value or compact classification rather than a free-text narrative, so the value should be interpreted in the context of NASA’s controlled code set or paired reference descriptions.

Family: Award
Category: General
Data Type: string
Semantic Type: attribute
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering
Title
Field of Science or Engineering
FPDS Path
award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/fieldOfScienceOrEngineering
Description
This field identifies the field of science or engineering associated with the award in NASA-specific award elements. The example value indicates it is likely a coded value or compact classification rather than a free-text narrative, so the value should be interpreted in the context of NASA’s controlled code set or paired reference descriptions.
Business Meaning
It helps analysts classify NASA awards by technical discipline, which supports workload analysis, research portfolio reporting, mission-area grouping, and comparison of procurement activity across scientific and engineering domains. It is especially useful when evaluating how award dollars and counts align with agency research priorities or technical capabilities.
Example Value
41
Observed Non-Null Count
169,589

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering
FPDS XML Path
award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/fieldOfScienceOrEngineering
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/fieldOfScienceOrEngineering' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Group NASA awards by scientific or engineering discipline
  • Filter awards for portfolio and program analysis
  • Map coded values to readable categories in reports

Common Mistakes

  • Reading the numeric value as a budget, rank, or ordinal measure
  • Using the code without validating the corresponding reference description

Query Guidance

Use this field as a categorical filter or GROUP BY dimension. When possible, join it to a code reference or derived label table; if analyzing raw FPDS extracts, verify the observed values first and avoid numeric comparisons unless the agency documentation defines a meaningful ordering.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering AS field_of_science_or_engineering
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__fieldOfScienceOrEngineering IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY value
ORDER BY record_count DESC
LIMIT 25

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.