CHEM 223: Organic Chemistry
Librarian: Josh Wilson
Getting Started
Basic chemical information searching tips
If you follow these tips, your work will be easier and you will learn the practice
of professional research along the way.
I. Whenever possible, use the CAS Number (also known as the Registry
Number),
NOT a synonym or common name, to look up your chemical. Information resources
may not have synonym indexes. Even if they do, they may use a different synonym
than you. Some chemicals have dozens of synonyms. CAS Numbers are unique for
each chemical and constant in all sources.
II. Use indexes.
All information resources have index pages, and sometimes entire index
volumes separate from the main volumes. Also look for "legend" pages to describe
the information each entry contains.
III. Depending on your chemical, you may need to look up information in printed reference books, online databases, or both. Online resources are available through the library’s web site. You may be able to complete this assignment exclusively using the library’s electronic sources. But not everything is online—especially not in the free domain accessible with tools like Wikipedia and Google—so do not neglect print resources. Print resources for this assignment are available in the D.H. Hill Library reference collection (in the Learning Commons, 1st floor, east wing). Print resources can provide thorough information that is difficult to search for online, and can be surprisingly quick and easy to use.
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Discussion
Or: why not do all this the EASY way?
I. Why do you really need to use the CAS number? It’s
tempting to use the common name of your chemical for all searching, especially
if it’s something easy to remember (like “benzoyl peroxide”).
This can work fine—maybe—but it’s not a good practice. Different
resources index common names differently. There may be dozens of synonyms for
a given chemical. So you look yours up, it's not there—only you missed
it, because the authors used a different synonym. Or the common name may be challenging
to find in an index (just try looking up “R-(-)-2-Amino-1-butanol”—if
you don’t know where to start, you’re not alone!). Best practice:
use the common name only until you’ve got a CAS number in hand, then rely
on the CAS number for further searching. (EXCEPTION: Pubchem is
a free chemical information site hosted by the National Institutes of Health.
They do not use CAS numbers to index chemicals. Understanding why is beyond the
scope of Chem223, but some of the details are here.)
II. Most students will
use indexes naturally, and it will seem like common sense. Others will treat
reference books like the dictionaries and encyclopedias they’re used
to. They’ll assume all the information
is in some coherent order. But this is actually not often the case for advanced
reference material. You’ll need to start with the index to
refer to some control number specific to that resource. Another unusual thing:
indexes are sometimes entirely separate volumes, not just pages in the back
of the book. Legend pages will also be important, since some reference tomes
use a lot of abbreviations and symbols, or just pack all their information
into indecipherable tables. The legend is usually among the front pages of
the book.
III. Why not just use Wikipedia or Google? Perhaps the
most important lesson of this assignment is that general internet searching
(with public domain engines like Google) is rarely an effective research strategy.
It’s
tempting to try, because it’s
quick and easy, and there’s always a chance it will work. But professional
research can not be done this way. The information is often unreliable or
inaccurate. It can easily support a transparent agenda of the information
provider. (This can be good or bad. Aldrich provides terrific and thoroughly
referenced chemical information in an attempt to get you to buy the chemicals,
not unlike Amazon does for books. A bogus internet pharmacy might copy Wikipedia
information wholesale, except “accidentally” leaving out the
health and safety precautions. The short answer is that unless a site provides
good reference information, you can't use it for any academic or professional
work, and you shouldn't
trust it anyway.) There are great online resources available in chemistry.
Some are free, many are not. The latter are available to NCSU students only
through the library, not via Google. And just because it’s
online doesn’t mean it’s better anyway. The print resources can
be more informative and easier to use. Sometimes doing professional research
means you have to leave your home computer! Or at least, leave the comfortable confines of Wikipedia.
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More help from the library
1. Contact the physical sciences reference librarian if
you need help using any chemistry resources. Feel free to ask quick questions,
or request an appointment for more detailed help.
2. Ask at the reference desk or use Ask-a-Librarian for
a quicker response. A particularly good idea if you have a more general "library
use" question instead of a "complex chemistry-specific" question.
3. Search an alternate chemistry database for
your information. Read the descriptions to understand the database coverage.
4. Use the library Catalog to find
books related to your question. There's a lot of extremely high-quality information
available to you in the library. Take advantage of it.
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Librarian Contact Information
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