Getting Started in the LibraryThis library guide points you in the direction of some basic library resources for completing library assignments and writing research papers in this course. Many of these resources are available from the library's homepage at http://www.lib.ipfw.edu/, so you may want to bookmark both the homepage and this guide.
Here are some resources to get you started:
Gaining an OverviewTo develop and refine your search, it often helps to consult a specialized dictionary, encyclopedia, handbook, textbook, guide, or bibliography. These tools are designed to offer an overview of your topic or research problem written by an expert. They may provide an historical perspective, a chronology of events, definitions of terms or concepts, or bibliographic references leading to the literature in a particular field of study. Many useful reference works are now available online. These handy e-reference collections are accessible via Find Resources By... Subject, Title, or Type on the library's homepage.
Finding Chemical InformationIf you are looking for information on a chemical element or substance, you may have bits and pieces of information such as the CAS registry number, the molecular formula or weight, the common name or trade name, or the systematic name. Before searching the primary literature via databases such as Chemical Abstracts (SciFinder Scholar or STN on the Web), first gather as much information about the substance as possible. For an overview of general chemistry resources, see the Helmke Library Chemistry Subject Pathfinder
A useful resource on the Web is the Chemical Information Sources Wiki. The Chemical Information Sources Wiki is a guide to the many sources of reference materials available for those with questions related to chemistry. The material is based on an undergraduate course offered for many years in the Indiana University Department of Chemistry by Gary Wiggins.
Determining Substance Name(s)Consult the following resources to locate synonyms for your substance or determine meanings for acronyms.
Chemical Acronym Database (Indiana University Bloomington Chemistry Library) A searchable database of acronyms used in chemistry.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (Science Reference QD65 .H3, previous edition in Science Reference) The sections of this important handbook on physical constants have synonym, molecular formula and CA registry number indexes that may be useful. You may browse the table of contents and search the text at http://hbcpnetbase.com (but note that full text is not available via this free interface). Use your search results to look up the information in the print version. For more information, see Helmke Library's Tips for Using the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
Dictionary of Chemistry (Science Reference QD5 .M36 2003) Covers over 8,000 essential terms with cross references to synonyms when applicable. Definitions contain some basic properties and the molecular formula. No structures are included. Entries are by common name.
Dictionary of Organic Compounds (Science Reference QD246 .D5 1982) Covers organic compounds that are frequently used as starting materials or intermediates and natural products used in commerce. Includes references to spectrographic data, CA registry numbers, toxicity information, and primary literature. Uses both IUPAC and common names as well as CA names. Supplements are published each year. Use the newest supplement first.
Merck Index (Science Reference RS51 .M4, also available at the Service Desk) Includes physical properties, descriptions, and uses, CA registry numbers and synonyms for drugs, biologicals, agricultural chemicals, and organic and inorganic chemicals used in research, lab reagents, and dyes.
Oxford Reference Online Premium Search the Dictionary of Chemistry to find entries by common name. Includes some basic properties and usage information. No references to CA registry numbers or Beilstein.
Locating Chemical Abstracts Registry NumbersThe following resources include references to CA registry numbers. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Dictionary of Organic Compounds
Merck Index
Material and Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Many of these are available free online through Web sites. If you know the manufacturer, search the manufacturer's Web site for the MSDS. MSDS Provider offers many free resources.
Finding Chemical PropertiesCRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics and Lange's Handbook of Chemistry are both good sources of chemical property information for fairly common organic and inorganic substances.
Knovel Critical Tables Offers online access to tables of physical, solvent, and thermodynamic properties, available to authorized IPFW users on or off campus.
Other sources include the following free Web sites. ChemExper Chemical Directory
ChemFinder Registration required after five searches, however, basic searches are free after registration.
Matweb A good site for metals and chemicals used in engineering applications.
NIST Chemistry WebBook Searchable by name, formula, structure, CA registry number, reaction or author.
ChemIDplus Lite A unique portal of information that allows searching by name or registry number across multiple databases and the internet.
Locating References to BeilsteinThe following resources provide references to Beilstein.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (Science Reference QD65 .H3, previous edition in Science Reference) Beilstein references in the CRC Handbook take the following form
a-bb-cc-ddddd
where a is the series, b is the volume, c is the sub volume (if applicable), and d is the page number. For more information, see Helmke Library's Tips for Using the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (Science Reference QD65 .L36 15th ed. 1999, older editions in Stacks) This handbook covers information similar to the CRC Handbook, but it is easier to use and understand in most cases, though it does not include CA registry numbers. The text is searchable online through Knovel Critical Tables, however, full text is not available. Search online to find a reference for your substance, then use the printed copy in the library to look up the information.
Beilstein references in Lange's take the following form
a, bb
where a is the volume and b is the page number of the fourth edition of Beilstein.
Searching IUCAT for Books and PeriodicalsSearch IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog), to find books and periodicals (scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, and other serials), or library materials such as music CDs, electronic resources, and videos. Materials at the Fort Wayne Helmke Library are designated by the library location FORTWAYNE.
IUCAT searches from on-campus computers will show only materials held by the IPFW Fort Wayne Helmke Library. To search all IU libraries, choose ALL from the Select Library pull-down menu on the search screen.
Sometimes IUCAT will lead you to articles in periodicals, but the most efficient way to locate articles is to use a periodical database or index to search many periodicals simultaneously.
Learning about IUCATSave time in the long run by investing a half-hour with our interactive Searching IUCAT Tutorial. It is an easy way to grasp fundamental search techniques and try your hand at practice searches designed to reinforce your knowledge. Also check our other IUCAT Guides for help in using IUCAT to your best advantage.
Locating Books and Periodicals in the LibraryBooks, printed periodicals, and other library materials are shelved in Library of Congress Classification (LC) call number order. The call number and IUCAT Shelving Locations will help you determine on which floor of the library an item will be shelved.
Chemistry Call NumbersMaterials for chemistry are found in Library of Congress call numbers QD (for chemistry) and TP (for chemical engineering). Browsing these areas in the Stacks (for books you can check out), or in the Science Reference collection (for reference materials that may be used in the library) often leads you to a book or periodical that you will find useful. Also, try the following subject searches in IUCAT to locate chemistry books related to your topic. Chemical bonds
Chemical structure
Chemical elements
Chemical engineering
Chemical reactions
Chemistry abbreviations
Periodic law
Searching for Periodical ArticlesThe most efficient way of finding a high-quality periodical article , is to search a periodical database or index that provides descriptive abstracts, subject indexing, and often, the full-text content of articles. Check out the interactive Finding Articles Tutorial to learn the basics of choosing and searching the Academic Search Premier database. Below is a selection of databases useful for your course. For a complete list, see the library's Find Resources By... page. Select a resource by Subject, Title, or Type (choose Abstracts & Indexes).
Databases for this Course
Academic Search Premier -       |
Coverage: Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. |
Brief Description: Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in more than 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers in all fields of study, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. |
Tools Available: A complete list of titles covered is available. |
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Try the following search strategies (using established subject descriptors, DE) in Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost): DE "MATTER properties" and [insert the name or class of your compound]
DE "CHEMICAL reactions" and [insert the name or class of your compound]
DE "CHEMISTRY research" and [insert the name or class of your compound]
DE "DRUG utilization" and [insert the name or class of drug]
Other subject descriptors may be found by selecting Subject Terms from the menu bar inside Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost), and entering a term in the browse box. Keyword searching is also effective in this database.
American Chemical Society Journals & Magazines - |
Coverage: 1879 to present; actual coverage varies by title |
Brief Description: Contains the electronic full text and graphics of over 30 magazines and peer-reviewed journals published or co-published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), with issues going back to the first volume of most titles. |
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To search the ACS journals, select the Search Journals link on the opening page. To search all journals at once, select All Journals. The journals are searchable by word anywhere in the article, abstract, title, or author, by citation, DOI number, or journal name. The ACS search engine does not use a controlled vocabulary of subject descriptors. Some articles have supplementary information. These are often data files, images, or extra structures that were generated during the research but did not fit within the published article. When doing author searches, capitalize the first letter of the last name to eliminate retrieval of names with other variant endings. For example, searching billings retrieves bill, billing, billiard because the search engine recognizes the word stem of bill. However, searching Billings retrieves only articles by authors with the last name of Billings.
SciFinder Scholar - |
Call Number: Storage QD1. A51 |
Coverage: 1907 to present |
Brief Description: Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), SciFinder Scholar is a desktop research tool to locate and process information on a wide range of chemical and chemistry-related topics. |
Other IPFW Formats: IPFW library owns 1907-1946 and 1991-1992; Collective index 1957/1961 -1972/1976 (Storage QD1.C53); Source index 1907/1974 (Science Reference QD1. A512 pt.1 and pt.2); and the printed Index Medicus (Z6660 .I422 shelved at Science Ready Reference). |
Tools Available: A list of key/core journals is available from the producer. Several How to Guides are also available. |
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SciFinder Scholar coverage includes: CAPlus: Journal articles and patents from 1907 on (plus other records from various sources and some earlier records as well).
Registry: Chemical substances, by name and CAS registry number; complete coverage from 1957 to present, some coverage back to 1907; includes GenBank substances.
CASReact: Organic chemistry reactions, coverage from 1840, journals since 1985, patents since 1991.
Medline: Journal articles from biomedical journals covering 1950 to present.
For more help searching SciFinder Scholar, refer to Information Retrieval: SciFinder and SciFinder Scholar (Science Reference Z699.5.S3 R53 2002).
CrossFire Beilstein/Gmelin - |
Call Number: Science Reference QD251 .B4 1918 [Beilstein Commander 2000] |
Coverage: 1771 to present |
Brief Description: Provides access to the Beilstein and Gmelin Databases, highly respected core collections of structures, properties, and references to the literature in organic, organometallic and inorganic chemistry. |
Other IPFW Formats: IPFW Library owns Beilstein Handbuch der organischen Chemie 1910-1949 |
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Is Your Article Scholarly or Popular?University instructors often ask students to use articles from scholarly journals rather than from popular magazines for their research assignments. The following Is Your Journal Scholarly? (PDF) summarizes major differences between scholarly journals and popular magazines. Which type of source have you located?
What about Full Text?Full text means that the text of the article is available in PDF or HTML digital format. Graphics and tables are not automatically included unless the database producer has rights to publish them. Many of the library's licensed databases offer the full-text content of periodical articles. IPFW students, faculty, and staff now have access to more than 20,000 full-text journals. Find them in E-Journal Finder.
When an article you need is not available full text in the database you are using, choose  to see all of your delivery options. You may be able to access the full-text content in another database, request the article from another library through Document Delivery Services, or make a photocopy of the article if the printed periodical is owned by Helmke Library.
When a Resource is Not Available in the LibraryRequest Delivery is an IUCAT feature that allows IPFW faculty, students, and staff to request materials held by other Indiana University Libraries and to have them delivered to Helmke Library (see the IUCAT Request Delivery Fact Sheet).
You may also request any item that is not available at Helmke Library through Document Delivery Services (DDS). DDS borrows books and provides photocopies of periodical articles from other library collections. The service is free for IPFW faculty, staff, and students.
Searching the InternetFor some information needs, the Internet may supplement library resources. To begin an Internet search, try one of the many search engines on our Internet Search site. One that works well is Google, which ranks results by number of links leading to a site. The section on Subject-Oriented Tools includes directories that have evaluated and selected sites for specific subject areas, such as the Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Because the World Wide Web is a massive, tangled directory of knowledge producers, research, facts, and entertaining tidbits of information, you must be critical about the material you find there. Quality and validity are not assured when anyone can publish anything, anytime, without the benefit of scholarly peer review. There are many useful guides and tutorials to help you understand how to navigate and evaluate Web sites, including Is Your Web Site Credible?
Style Guides and Useful Tools for WritingA variety of style guides are on reserve at the Service Desk on the first floor. These tools help you organize and write your paper, and format in-text references and bibliography lists. For more information, also see our Style Guides and Writing Guides subject pathfinders.
Style Guides for this CourseACS Style Guide: a Manual for Authors and Editors (Science Reference QD8.5 .A25 1997)
And Finally, Ask a LibrarianLibrarians and skilled information assistants are always available to assist you. Visit the Service Desk to meet an information assistant who will help you get started. You are welcome to make an appointment with Your Subject Librarian if you need more in-depth assistance.
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schultes@ipfw.edu
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
260-481-6502
Fax: 260-481-6509
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Stephanie Schulte M.L.I.S.
Reference & Information Services Librarian; Liaison to Biology, Chemistry, Consumer & Family Sciences, Dental Education, & Nursing; Science & Technology Information Center Coordinator
Helmke Library, LB 157 |
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