Awards Database Help--The Data

THE DATA

AKA -- Display of name form(s), other than the name used as a header, under which an individual or corporate entity has received a nomination. Data is automatically searched as part of a name search. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) display screen.

Alternate Film Title -- Title(s) other than the nominated film title by which a film might be known. Data is automatically searched as part of a film title search. This is additional information for the film; no attempt is being made to add alternate titles comprehensively across the database. Data displays only in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens (and some modified display screens based on the Film Title (chron) display).

Award Type -- Indicates the type of award given (e.g. statuette, plaque, certificate). This field is not searchable. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) and Nominee (chron) display screens.

Award Category Index Terms -- Uniform headings for award categories to compensate for changes in wording over the years. These headings are used in the award category drop-down list on both search screens and as display headers and a primary sort in the Category (alpha) display screen. The Exact Award Category displays in all display screens.

Award Year -- Consists of eligible film year and awards annual number (e.g. 2002 (75th)). The eligibility periods for the first six annual awards were not on a calendar year and thus reference two years (e.g. 1928/29 (2nd)). Award year does not refer to the year that the ceremony took place, which is generally early in the following calendar year. This field is searchable via drop-down list by individual year or year span on both search screens. Data displays in all display screens.

Character Name -- Name of the film character played by a nominated actor in the competitive acting categories. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data appears in quotes surrounded by curly brackets (e.g. {"Nurse Mildred Ratched"}) and displays in all display screens.

Country -- Country(s) of origin for nominated film. Multiple countries are listed in order of greatest contribution. This is additional information for the film and should not be confused with countries which have been nominated in the Foreign Language Film category. For example, France may be the official nominee for the film in the Foreign Language Film category, but the Country field may display "[France/Germany/Spain]" indicating it is a co-production of these three countries. If the film is solely of U.S. origin, no data displays. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens (and some modified display screens based on the Film Title (chron) display).

Dance Number -- Name of nominated dance number in the Dance Direction category (no longer active). This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays in all display screens.

Death Date -- Date of death for nominee. This is additional information about the nominee. This field is not searchable (see Posthumous Delimiter). Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) display screen.

Debut Delimiter -- Limits search results to nominations and awards that constitute a nominee's film debut. Only applies to the directing and competitive acting categories. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Director Credit -- Name(s) of a nominated film's credited director (not to be confused with nominees in the directing category). This is additional information for the film. Data may not yet be entered for films with nominations solely in the documentary or short film categories. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Director (credited) display screen.

Distributor Statement -- Statement of distribution company(s) associated with a nominated film per Academy Award records. Approximately 15% - 20% of film titles in this database do not have a distributor statement. Changes in distribution status after nomination announcements are not reflected in this database. Also, because corporate names and histories are fluid, no attempt has been made to provide uniform headings for these companies. Instead, each Distributor Statement is taken at face value and will sort in the Distributor display screen on unique entries. For example, a search for "Paramount" in this field will result in some 18 unique entries (Paramount, Paramount Famous Lasky, Paramount Publix, Paramount in association with Spelling Films, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, etc.). Generally, all searching in this field is performed on a keyword basis, however, the database does take into account alternative names for a company. Thus a search for "MGM" will return all entries that have either MGM or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the Distributor Statement. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. In addition to the Distributor display screen, data also displays in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens. The Distributor Statement (when present) always appears after a Production Company Statement (and Presentation Company Statement if any).

Exact Award Category -- The exact wording of the award category for the given year. Generally, when searching by award category it is more productive to search by the Award Category Index Term; however, if you want only a subset of certain categories (e.g. Art Direction (color), Scoring of a Musical Picture, etc.) this can be a useful field to search by. This field is searchable only in the Advanced search screen. Data displays in all display screens.

Feature Film Delimiter -- Limits search results to feature films. For the purposes of this database, the definition of a feature film is specific to the award rules for each award year, which have varied over time. Currently, a film over forty minutes is considered a feature film. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Film Title -- Title under which the film was nominated. This field is searchable from the Basic and Advanced search screens. Data displays in all display screens.

Film Series -- Name of film series (if any) that nominated short subjects or documentaries were a part of. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens (and some modified display screens based on the Film Title (chron) display).

Foreign Language Film Delimiter -- Limits search results to films whose dialogue is primarily in a non-English language. Currently, this field is valid only for feature length dramatic films in the database (i.e. it does not include short films or documentary films). This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Honorary Citation -- Citation associated with an honorary award. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays in all display screens.

Honorary Index Terms -- Subject indexing of honorary Academy Awards. A list of these terms is available for searching from the drop-down list of the Honorary Index on the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Men Only Delimiter -- Limits search results to male nominees (excludes female, corporate and country nominees). This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Name Note -- A note regarding the name heading for a nominee (e.g. "pseudonym of Robert Towne"). This field is not searchable. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) display screen.

Name See Reference -- A reference informing you of the correct name heading for the nominee to look under. Data displays in the Nominee (alpha) display screen only.

Name See Also Reference -- A reference informing you of additional name heading(s) for the nominee to look under. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) display screen.

Nomination Statement -- Statement of nominees for nominated films within a category as they appear in Academy records. This can take the form of a single name, multiple names or name(s) with accompanying text (e.g. "Music and Lyric by Randy Newman"). This field is not searchable (see "Nominee" below). Data displays in all display screens.

Nominee -- Name of Academy Award nominee and/or winner. These can be persons, corporate entities or countries. In a few cases for honorary awards, the film itself is the nominee. This field is searchable from the Basic and Advanced search screens. Data displays as a header in the Nominee (alpha) and Nominee (chron) displays and is incorporated in the Nomination Statement (see above) which displays in all display screens.

Notes -- General note regarding a specific record in the database. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays in all display screens.

Placement -- Indicates second and third place finishers which were announced for the 6th-8th annual awards. These are not award winners. Placement information is merely an indication of the order of the voting results. Data displays in all display screens.

Posthumous -- Indicates when a nominee was deceased at the time of the award presentation. This is additional information for the nominee. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) and Nominee (chron) display screens. (see also "Posthumous Delimiter" below)

Posthumous Delimiter -- Limits search results by the "Posthumous" field (see above). This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Nominee (alpha) and Nominee (chron) display screens.

Presentation Company Statement -- Statement of presentation company(s) associated with a nominated film per Academy Award records. This field is seldom used. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens (and some modified display screens based on the Film Title (chron) display). The Presentation Company Statement (when present) appears after the Production Company Statement and before any Distributor Statement.

Production Company Statement -- Statement of production company(s) associated with a nominated film per Academy Award records. Generally, all searching in this field is performed on a keyword basis, however, the database does take into account alternative names for a company. Thus a search for "MGM" will return all entries that have either MGM or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the Production Company Statement. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays only in the Film Title (alpha) and Film Title (chron) display screens (and some modified display screens based on the Film Title (chron) display). The Production Company Statement is always the first (and sometimes the only) company statement displayed and is followed by (when present) the Presentation Company Statement and Distributor Statement.

Sci/Tech Citation -- Citation for Scientific and Technical Achievement awards. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays in all display screens.

Sci/Tech Description -- Descriptive information about a specific Scientific and Technical Achievement award. This field has only been used for the most recent awards. This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data displays in italics after the Sci/Tech Citation in all display screens.

Sci/Tech Index Terms -- Subject indexing for Scientific and Technical Achievement awards. These terms are available for searching from the drop-down list of the Sci/Tech Index on the Advanced search screen. Data appears in brackets following the Sci/Tech Citation and Description; displays only in the Category (chron) and Category (alpha) display screens.

Short Film Delimiter -- Limits search results to short films. For the purposes of this database, the definition of a short film is specific to the award rules for each award year, which have varied over time. Currently, a film of forty minutes or less is considered a short film. This field is searchable from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.

Song Title -- Title of nominated song. This field is searchable from the Basic and Advanced search screens. Data displays in all display screens.

Winner Delimiter -- Limits search results to award winners. Winners are designated by an asterisk (*). This field is searchable from the Basic and Advanced search screens. Data displays in all display screens.

Women Only Delimiter -- Limits search results to female nominees (excludes male, corporate and country nominees). This field is searchable only from the Advanced search screen. Data does not display.