HOW TO FIND INFORMATION IN CHEMISTRY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Bruce Slutsky

Robert Van Houten Library

NJIT

The Scientific Method

The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor to construct an accurate representation of the world.  There are various thought processes that are used when the scientific method is employed. 

Information Retrieval

  Scientists, engineers and students must be able to find information at all levels from a multitude of information resources available to them.

Similarities between the Scientific Method and Information Retrieval

Scientific Method• Know the subject • Require new knowledge • Propose an experiment to find

new knowledge • Conduct the experiment • Observe and interpret the results • Revise the experiment • Interpret the final outcome of the

experiment

Information Retrieval• Know the scope of and contents

of databases in his/her field of endeavor

• Require new knowledge • Devise an initial search strategy

using relevant terminology in subject databases

• Examine the initial answer set • Revise the strategy based on

findings from the initial answer set

• Explore alternative search options

• Examine the final answer set • Find the relevant documents • Use the information found

Formats of the Scientific and Technical Literature

• Journal

• Conference Proceeding

• Magazine

• Review Journal

• Research Level Book (monograph)

• Encyclopedia

• Data Compilation

What is a Journal?

A journal is a publication issued periodically that reports original research.

• Peer Review Process

• Detailed articles with experimental procedures

• Highly Specialized

Some Journals in Chemistry, Environmental Science and Chemical Engineering

• Analytical Chemistry

• Combustion and Flame

• Environmental Science and Technology

• Journal of Membrane Science

• Journal of Organic Chemistry

• Environmental Science & Policy

What is a Conference Proceeding?

• Organized by professional societies such as the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers

• Scientists and engineers report their research findings there

• A conference proceedings is a permanent record of the presentation

Examples of Conference Proceedings

• Computational chemistry and chemical engineering : proceedings of the Third UNAM-CRAY Supercomputing Conference : Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 13-

16 August 1996

• The transactinide elements : the Robert A. Welch Foundation 41st Conference on Chemical Research : October 27-28, 1997, the Houstonian

Hotel, Houston, Texas

Review Journals

• Condensed version of a research journal

• Summarizes research developments over a short time

• Omits detailed experimental procedures

Examples of Review Journals

• Annual Review of Biochemistry

• Annual Review of Physical Chemistry

• Chemical Reviews

Magazines

• Scientific and technical articles are translated into a language suited for a more general audience

• Written by journalists rather than researchers

Examples of Magazines

• Chemical and Engineering News - received by  members of the American Chemical Society

• Chemical Engineering Progress - received by members of the American Insitute of Chemical Engineers

• Chemical Week - a business publication • Scientific American - for the lay public

Monographs

• Another name for a book

• May be written at all levels

• Reports research over a longer period of time

• Brings the research to a much wider audience

Data Compilations

• Extract selected pieces of information from the journal literature

• May be limited by type of compound or property

• May be print or electronic

Examples of Data Compilations

• Chemfinder

• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

• NIST-JANAF Thermochemical Tables – available in print at NJIT

• NIST Web Book

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias introduce researchers to specialize fields of study.  Some encyclopedias in chemistry and chemical engineering available in print at NJIT:

• The Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology

• Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry • Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and

Design • Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and

Engineering   • Wikipedia

Is Wikipedia Reliable?

• Can it be trusted as a source of chemical information?

(The next 2 slides about the Wikipedia are adapted from a presentation at the Spring 2006 American Chemical

Society meeting by Martin Walker of SUNY Potsdam)

Professional Studies

• In December 2005, Nature conducted a study where 42 leading scientists each assessed an article in the area of expertise, looking for errors and omissions.

• This was used to compare Wikipedia with Encyclopedia Britannica (EB).

• The conclusion: “Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia comes close to Britannica in terms of the accuracy of its science entries.“

• Wikipedia suffered from poor writing in places, but had the advantage of very fast updates.

Flow of Scientific Information

• Scientists and engineers conceive ideas and perform experiments in the laboratory.  They want to make the results of their research public. 

• The published information flows from the top of the chart (next slide)to the bottom.  Students needing information must start their research at the bottom of the chart.  Tertiary literature such as handbooks, encyclopedias, and textbooks should be consulted first. 

Flow of Scientific Information

Types of Databases

• Bibliographic - includes the elements needed to identify the document – Author(s) – Title – Journal, Year, Volume, Issue Number, Pages

• Abstract - a one paragraph summary of the article to help the researcher decide if it is relevant to the research question

• Full-Text - includes the entire article in electronic format

• Numeric (Data Compilation) - includes only specific data elements such as thermodynamic or spectral data

Database Formats

• Print • Very cumbersome and difficult to use • Online (1970s to the present) CD-ROM

(1980s to the present) - Only so much information can fit on one disk

• World Wide Web (1990s to the present) Internet access using special software – Scifinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts 1907 to

the present)

Limitations of Databases

• Subject coverage

• Number of Publications

• Dates of Publication

• Types of Publication (i.e. journals only, patents only)

• Not all databases provide full-text of the retrieved documents or links to them

NJIT Library Home Pagehttp://library.njit.edu

• Catalog (Voyager) – Database of the print holdings of NJIT Library

• Databases • Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Form • Selected resources on the Internet

– Selected resources in chemistry and chemical engineering

– How to find physical properties of substances

Voyager, the NJIT Library Catalog

• Books

• Journals (print)

• Technical Reports

• Conference Proceedings

• Theses and Dissertations (by NJIT students

Chemistry related databases from the NJIT Library

• Scifinder Scholar • Scopus• Applied Science and Technology

Index • Medline • American Chemical Society

Publications • Science Direct

Scifinder Scholar

• Electronic Version of Chemical Abstracts (1907 to the present)

• It contains many links to full-text articles • Searchable by chemical substance,

reaction, research topic, author or affiliation

• Two Versions– Web– Client

Scifinder Scholar

• Will be discussed in more detail in Lecture #2

• A tutorials are available at– http://www.cas.org/support/academic/index.html

Scopus

• Scopus is a multidisciplinary database that contains records going back to the mid 1960s, offering newly-linked citations across the widest body of scientific abstracts available in one place.

• Please keep in mind that the coverage and indexing of Scifinder Scholar and Scopus differ.  It is always advisable to search more than one database when an exhaustive search is needed. 

Publisher Databases at NJIT

• American Chemical Society Journals • American Institute of Physics • American Society of Civil Engineers • American Society of Mechanical Engineers • IEEE/IEL Electronic Library • Institute of Physics • Science Direct (Elsevier) • SIAM Journals Online (Society for Industrial and

Applied Mathematics) • Springer • Wiley Journals Online

American Chemical Society Journals

Selected List• Accounts of Chemical Research • Analytical Chemistry • Biochemistry • Chemical Reviews • Environmental Science and Technology • Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Res

earch • Journal of Organic Chemistry • Journal of Physical Chemistry A

Science Direct

Selected List• Analytica Chimica Acta• Chemical Engineering Science • Computational Biology and Chemistry• Fluid Phase Equilibria • Journal of Membrane Science • Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling• Process Biochemistry • Progress in Energy and Combustion Science • Separation and Purification Technology • Tetrahedron

Availability of Journals

• Print only • Electronic Only • Print and Electronic

– Dates of electronic availability vary – Check Serials Solutions Database

• Open Access Journals• Not available at NJIT - order through

interlibrary loan

Advantages of Electronic Journals

• Allows for remote access

• No missing issues or pages

• Promotes browsing

• Allows links to the references in the bibliography

Selected Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Sources on the Web

• http://library.njit.edu/researchhelpdesk/subjectguides/Chemistry.php - how to find information in chemistry and chemical engineering

• http://library.njit.edu/researchhelpdesk/subjectguides/phys-prop.php - how to find physical property data

Boolean LogicAND

• The Boolean AND narrows your search by retrieving only documents that contain every one of the keywords that you enter.  The more terms you enter, the narrower your search becomes.      EXAMPLE: vapor liquid equilibrium AND benzene      EXAMPLE: vapor liquid equilibrium AND benzene AND toluene

Boolean LogicOR

• The Boolean OR expands your search by returning documents in which either or both keywords appear.  The more keywords you enter, the more documents you retrieve.    EXAMPLE: benzene OR toluene    EXAMPLE: benzene OR toluene OR xylene

Boolean LogicNOT

• The Boolean NOT limits your search by returning only the first keyword but not the second, even if the first word appears in that document, too    EXAMPLE toluene NOT xylene    EXAMPLE benzene NOT chloroform

Devising Optimal Search Strategies

• Choose the proper database(s) – Be aware of the scope and limitations

• Use all relevant search terms and appropriate Boolean logic – Think of concepts not words

• Devise a search strategy for: – Precise search

• Expand strategy if too few are found

– Exhaustive search • Cut down if too many citations are retrieved

Is Your Answer Reasonable?

• If not, what can you do differently? • Keep in mind that the thought processes

involved in applying the scientific method to laboratory experiments apply in the search for technical information

• Ask for help • Library Reference desk in person or at 973-596-

3210. Chat reference is now available• Bruce Slutsky, Technical Reference Librarian, at

Bruce.Slutsky@njit.edu or 973-642-4950

Bruce Slutsky

• Technical Reference Librarian– Chemistry and Environmental Science– Chemical Engineering– Biomedical Engineering– Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Contact information– Bruce.Slutsky@njit.edu– 973-642-4950– http://njitbruce.blogspot.com