Search Regulations.gov Content by Keyword

Searches for a specific term across regulations.gov content types. Returns documents, comments, or dockets that match the search term, with optional filters for date, agency, and other parameters.

Usage

get_searchTerm(searchTerm, endpoint, 
               lastModifiedDate = Sys.time(), 
               lastModifiedDate_mod = "le", agencyId = NULL, 
               docketId = NULL, docketType = NULL, 
               commentOnId = NULL, api_keys)

Arguments

searchTerm

A character string containing the term to search for. Can include multiple keywords (e.g., "climate change"). URL-encoding is handled automatically by the function.

endpoint

Character string specifying the content type to search within. Valid options:

"documents"

Search within regulatory documents

"comments"

Search within public comments

"dockets"

Search within docket metadata

lastModifiedDate

Filter results by their last modified date. Default is current system time. Format must be: "yyyy-MM-dd%20HH:mm:ss" (e.g., "2024-01-01%2000:00:00" for January 1, 2024).

lastModifiedDate_mod

Modifier for the date filter. Acceptable values:

"le"

Less than or equal to (default)

"ge"

Greater than or equal to

NULL

Collects results for a single exact date match

agencyId

Optional character string to filter by agency acronym (e.g., "EPA", "FCC", "CMS").

docketId

Optional character string to filter by specific docket ID. Limits search to content within a particular docket.

docketType

Optional character string to filter by docket type (e.g., "Rulemaking", "Nonrulemaking").

commentOnId

Optional character string to filter by the document ID that comments are responding to. Only applicable when endpoint = "comments".

api_keys

Character string or vector containing API key(s) from api.data.gov. If multiple keys are provided, the function will cycle through them to manage rate limits.

References

Regulations.gov API Documentation: https://open.gsa.gov/api/regulationsgov/

Agency Acronym List: https://www.regulations.gov/agencies

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# Basic search for documents about "climate change"
climate_results <- get_searchTerm("climate change", api_keys = "DEMO_KEY")

# Search for comments containing "pesticide" from EPA
epa_comments <- get_searchTerm("pesticide", 
                               endpoint = "comments", 
                               agencyId = "EPA")

# Search within a specific docket for recent documents
docket_search <- get_searchTerm("safety", 
                               endpoint = "documents",
                               docketId = "EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0123",
                               lastModifiedDate = "2024-01-01%2000:00:00",
                               lastModifiedDate_mod = "ge")

# Search for rulemaking dockets about healthcare
healthcare_dockets <- get_searchTerm("healthcare", 
                                    endpoint = "dockets",
                                    docketType = "Rulemaking")

# Using multiple API keys for higher rate limits
keys <- c("api_key_1", "api_key_2", "api_key_3")
results <- get_searchTerm("air quality", 
                         endpoint = "documents",
                         api_keys = keys)
} # }