Background on a Chemistry Faculty Member

1. Directory of Graduate Research  

American Chemical Society's (ACS) Directory of Graduate Research (DGR) provides information about faculty research interests and areas at universities in the U.S. and Canada.

2. Faculty Webpages

Faculty webpages can be a source of information regarding research interests and areas.

3. Faculty Publications

Based on several articles one can get a sense of research interests and areas.
Some articles also have a short bio that may comment on their research areas.
See Searching the Chemistry Literature below.

Background on a Chemistry Related Topics

One can find background on a chemistry related topic from a number of sources (books, articles, etc.), but here we will focus on specialized encyclopedias and review articles. NOTE: One would find books in our library using our online catalog, LibCat, which is linked from the library's homepage.

1. Van Nostrand's Encyclopedia of Chemistry

A general chemistry encyclopedia.  

2. Specialized Chemistry Encyclopedias

    Encyclopedia of Analytical Science
       
    Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry

    Encyclopedia of Computational Chemistry

    Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry

    Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology

    Encyclopedia of Smart Materials

    Encyclopedia of Spectroscopy and Spectrometry 

    Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology

    Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry

 3. Review Articles

Review articles evaluate and summarize original research (usually from journal articles) on a particular topic. One can locate review articles in a number of ways, but generally you search a database (see below) and limit the results to just review articles. There are entire chemistry journals dedicated to publishing review articles.
 

Searching the Chemistry Literature

Most original chemical research is communicated through journal articles. To search the chemistry literature (and the journal literature of other disciplines), one uses databases. There are 100s of databases covering a variety of disciplines, though each tends to cover a specific discipline. The library has created Subject Guides

to assist students, faculty, and staff with selection of database and other e-resources (e.g., e-books, e-journals, websites, etc.). 

1. Web of Science    

Multidisciplinary database. Indexes over 10,000 major journals in the science/technology, social sciences, and arts/humanities. Over 7,000 journals in science and technology. Coverage is 1900-present for science/ technology. Contains over 40 million records.

a. Author searches must use an asterisk after the initial(s). For example, Lunsford J*

b. One can limit to review articles using "Document Type" before the search or check the box for "Reviews" under "Refine Results" after conducting the search.

c. Results can be resorted by "Publication Year" and "Times Cited."

See handout provided during instructional session for more details.

2. SciFinder   

The focus of this database is chemistry, but it also has excellent coverage of chemical engineering, materials science, physics, and related disciplines. The database indexes over 1,500 core scientific journals and over 8,500 selectively. Coverage is 1907 to present, but they have been adding older content. Contains over 30 million records.

Sources of Chemical Information

A lot of chemical information (e.g., property data, uses, syntheses, etc.) is summarized in handbooks, databases, and some encyclopedias.

1. CHEMnetBASE

CHEMnetBASE is a collection of eBooks (mostly handbooks) containing basic information on chemicals [Chemical name, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number (CASRN), molecular formula, etc.), property data, literature references, and other information. Includes the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - A major source of property data, constants, and often the first place to start when looking for property data. Try the Combined Chemical Dictionary (CCD) for your assignment.

2. IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) Names

IUPAC nomenclature is a systematic way of naming chemicals names based on rules established by IUPAC. While widely used, most sources will not necessarily label or specify that the IUPAC name is being used. PubChem does list an IUPAC name, but these are submitted by depositors and MAY BE INCORRECT. Try PubChem and look the other sources. If you have questions, please contact me and/or your instructors. CAS names are another systematic way of naming compounds and also widely used. You may be able to find CAS names in the Merck Index and definitely SciFinder.
 
3. Merck Index

The Merck Index is an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals that contains more than 10,000 brief descriptions, including CASRN, some property data, and literature references. Can search Merck Index by chemical name, molecular formula, CASRN, and property value. Each monograph is a concise description of a single substance or a small group of closely related compounds.

4. Knovel

A collection of ebooks (mainly handbooks) that can be searched by keyword or particular property.

ACS Style Manual

Chapter 14 of the ACS Style Manual outlines the conventions for citing references.

A print copy of the entire The ACS Style Manual is available at the "Ask Us Desk - Front desk of the Evans Library - for in-library use only.

EndNote

EndNote software allows you manage your citations, build bibliographies with a consistent format, and automatically cite references while you type a Word document.

TAMU students, faculty, and staff can download a free copy from https://software.tamu.edu