Freedom251 › Academic Research Databases
Inspec
What Inspec is
Inspec is the IET’s paid online academic database for engineering, physics, and computer science research. It contains more than 28 million records from hundreds of global publishers and uses expert, human-curated indexing for subject and interdisciplinary discovery. Indexed material includes journals, conference proceedings, preprints, dissertations, books, presentations, posters, videos, standards, and technical reports. Inspec Direct provides searching, review, and analysis tools for peer-reviewed research, with advanced search available. Institutional subscriptions include the database and Inspec Analytics, which uses semantic technology and a knowledge graph to compare trends across organisations and scientific concepts, monitoring more than 14,000 topics. The service is available through several vendor platforms, including EBSCOhost, Engineering Village, ProQuest, and Web of Science. The IET also offers structured data through an API or direct feed. Inspec has no full-text access. Pricing is on request, and there is no free plan.
Who it suits
Inspec suits corporate, government, and academic researchers needing indexed STEM literature and trend analysis. Institutional users can also use its API or data feed in their own systems.
What it does well
- Over 28 million research records
- Human-curated subject indexing
- Advanced search tools
- Analytics monitors over 14,000 topics
- API and direct data feed
What to know first
- No full-text access
- No free plan
- Paid pricing is on request
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Inspec Archive | Separate purchase; abstracts from 1898–1968; perpetual access available through a one-off purchase | On request |
| Inspec subscription | Institutional subscription; includes Inspec research database and Inspec Analytics | On request |
| Inspec Analytics Plus | Optional upgrade with additional citation and collaboration features | On request |
As theiet.org lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Inspec provides broad indexed coverage for engineering, physics, and computer science, with search and analytics options. Buyers should note that access is subscription-based and records do not include full text.
Facts from Inspec's own pages
- Analytics features
- Inspec Analytics uses semantic technology and a knowledge graph to compare research trends across thousands of organisations and scientific concepts. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Analytics topics
- Inspec Analytics can monitor global trends across more than 14,000 research topics. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- API and data
- The IET offers Inspec structured data through an API or direct data feed for use in customers’ own systems. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Audience
- Inspec Direct is designed for research discovery in the corporate, government, and academic sectors. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Coverage
- Inspec contains over 28 million records of research literature from hundreds of global publishers. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 1967 · theiet.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom · theiet.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Included analytics
- Inspec subscriptions include access to the research database and Inspec Analytics. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Indexed material
- Inspec indexes journals, conference proceedings, preprints, dissertations, books, presentations and posters, videos, standards, and technical reports. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Inspec Direct
- Inspec Direct supports searching and reviewing peer-reviewed research and offers search and analysis tools with human-curated indexing. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Maker
- The IET says it was created in 2006 and describes itself as a global engineering and technology community. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Publisher selection
- The Inspec Publisher Relations team evaluates journals in physics, engineering, computing, and technology for possible inclusion. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Inspec is an online academic database with expert indexing for subject-specific and interdisciplinary research in engineering, physics and computer science. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- The IET provides Inspec guides, platform user guides, and an Inspec Analytics user guide. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
- Vendor platforms
- Inspec is available through Derwent Innovation, Dialog Solutions, EBSCOhost, Engineering Village, OvidSP, ProQuest, and Web of Science. · theiet.org, 7 Oct 2026
Where Inspec stands on Freedom251
- Academic Research Databases#30 of 35