Chemistry 351: Physical Chemistry
Research Resources, Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta, Fall 2009
Professor Chiang
Finding journal articles: |
For academic research, it is often important to use peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals rather than popular magazines. Peer-review is the process by which a journal article is evaluated by experts in the field. An example of a peer-reviewed journal is Chemical Reviews. An example of a popular magazine is Time.
Review articles: It is often useful to begin your research with a "review article". A "review article" includes a listing of all the important research on a topic. The Annual Review of Physical Chemistry is a good source for review articles (available in print in Milne Library QD1 .A732 though 2007. Recent articles can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan) .
Journal articles
- American Chemical Society Web Edition (link off the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z)
- Access to about 30 peer-reviewed research journals published by the American Chemical Society. (The ACS Journal of Chemical Education is available on a separate web site)
- Academic Search Complete (a link on the Milne Library home page)
- Provides full text for about 6,100 periodicals including over 5,100 peer-reviewed journals across most areas of academic study as well as indexing and abstracts for more than 10,000 magazines and journals. The journals Science and Nature can be searched individually by clicking on the publications tab and adding the journal to the search box.
- ScienceDirect (link off the Milne Library home page under Databases by Name A-Z)
- Provides full text access to over 2000 Elsevier journals in the fields of science, psychology, medicine, and technology. Includes a listing of the 25 "hottest" chemistry articles.
A current listing of chemistry journals available full-text online can be obtained from Serials Solutions.. Select "Title contains all words" from the drop-down menu. Search using chem* (the * is the truncation symbol)
It may be possible to find peer-reviewed journal articles by using Google Scholar; however, some of these articles may be author preprints and therefore may not be exactly the same as the final version. Some articles are available full-text due to Milne Library subscriptions.
Finding the full-text of online articles:
- When the full text does not appear on the computer screen, click on the Find It or 360 Link to Full Text icon. This links to a menu that indicates other databases where an online full text copy of the article might be found. Often there is a direct link to the full text of the article. If not, search the indicated database by the title of the article. If you see a link to SUNY-Oneonta print holdings, the issue of the periodical may be in the Milne Library print periodicals collection: enter the periodical title in the search box on the library home page under the red Find Journals tab on top of the search box.
- If the library does not subscribe to the periodical, the article can usually be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan/ILLIAD. Articles are usually delivered to you electronically in your College at Oneonta mailbox. If you order a book, you will be notified when it has arrived so that you can pick it up at the library. Interlibrary loan usually takes a few days but may take up to three weeks in unusual circumstances, so be sure to allow plenty of time to receive your materials before you need to write your paper.
Primary Sources |
Primary sources are original works by an author. Examples in chemistry include firsthand reports of research such as lab reports as well as many journal articles. Most new research in chemistry is published in the form of journal articles.
Secondary sources can be used to find references to primary sources. Books that are not the original work of the researcher are also considered secondary sources.
Tertiary sources include guides to the literature and textbooks.
- Flow of scientific information
- From the University of Waterloo.
Selected references |
Reference materials can be useful to find background information.
Chemistry: Foundations and Applications. Milne Library Reference QD4 .C48 2004 4 volumes
- ChemSpider
- Free access to millions of chemical structures.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Milne Library Reference QD65 .H3
- Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
- Provides access to over 1000 articles on chemical substances including their properties, manufacturing, and uses.
Material Safety Data Sheets (http://www.ilpi.com/msds/)
Merck Index: an Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Milne Library Reference RS51 .M4
- NIST Data Gateway
- Access to free National Institute of Standards and Technology databases that cover a broad range of substances and properties.
- WebElements
- Online periodic table of the elements. Also includes key data, history, uses, biology.
Need more help?
Research/Information specialists are available to help you in person at the Research/Information Desk most hours the library is open. Research librarians can be reached by email ( libref@oneonta.edu or http://www.oneonta.edu/library/help/contactus.asp) or telephone (607-436-2722). In addition, Research Consultations (a link on the Milne Library home page) are available for in-depth research assistance. It is also possible to chat with a librarian (usually not from Milne Library) through the Ask Us 24/7 Reference Service (a link on the Milne Library home page).
Nancy Cannon (cannonns@oneonta.edu)
OFFICE HOURS by appointment