FPDS Query Library
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Contract Action Type Description

Human-readable text that describes the value stored in the paired Contract Action Type code field for an Other Transaction Award. It identifies the type of contract action in plain language, such as a label corresponding to the underlying coded procurement value.

Family: Other Transaction Award
Category: Contract Data
Data Type: string
Semantic Type: description
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description
Title
Contract Action Type Description
FPDS Path
OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/contractData/contractActionType/description
Description
Human-readable text that describes the value stored in the paired Contract Action Type code field for an Other Transaction Award. It identifies the type of contract action in plain language, such as a label corresponding to the underlying coded procurement value.
Business Meaning
This field helps procurement analysts interpret action-level records without decoding abbreviated or system-generated codes. It supports classification of award activity, validation of coded data, and reporting that requires understandable action-type labels for oversight, trend analysis, and compliance review.
Example Value
OTHER TRANSACTION AGREEMENT
Observed Non-Null Count
38,894

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description
FPDS XML Path
OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/contractData/contractActionType/description
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'OtherTransactionAward/contractDetail/contractData/contractActionType/description' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description'.

Use Cases

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

Common Usage

  • Display a readable contract action type in reports and dashboards
  • Map or validate the paired action type code
  • Review action-type distributions for procurement analysis

Common Mistakes

  • Using the description as a surrogate key instead of the code
  • Assuming the text is standardized across all records or systems

Query Guidance

Use this field in SELECT clauses for readable output and in DISTINCT or GROUP BY only when you want label-based aggregation. For analytical joins, filters, and deduplication, prefer the paired coded field; if codes are present, join on the code and keep the description as a display attribute.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description AS contract_action_type_description
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__OtherTransactionAward__contractDetail__contractData__contractActionType__description 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.