This guide is designed to help you find different types of information for chemistry research. Chemistry information comes in many different forms. For example, Reference Books, Articles, Patents, Spectra, Structures, and Properties are important types of information in chemistry research.
1. Read How to Search for tips on structuring a search.
2. Apply your searching skills to locate different types of information using the pages under "Where to Find":
Books - Provides tips for searching in the EMU Library Catalog, directions for where to request books from other libraries, and some links to helpful reference materials.
Articles - Peer reviewed articles are important in the sciences because they are examined by experts prior to publication. They are published in scholarly journals. Different databases allow access or the ability to search in different sets of journals. By using the "Articles" tab on the left, you can access a number of databases to search for scholarly articles.
Patents - Chemistry research is often done through industries that acquire patents on their work. Searching patents can be a tools for finding pharmacological information as well as information on technology.
Chemical IDs - Chemical ID numbers can be used to identify specific compounds. Because many chemical compounds have a number of different names, using a chemical ID number to search can be helpful. Use the Chem IDs tab on the left to find identifiers.
Properties & Spectra - Physical and chemical properties and spectra are important for identifying and predicting chemical behavior.
Structure Searching - The tools listed on this page will allow you to search for or by chemical structures.
3. Use Zotero to cite your sources. Information on downloading and setting up Zotero can be found in "How to Cite Your Sources."
Chemical information exists in many different formats including: articles, books, chemical and physical properties, spectra, and data. Sources can be primary, secondary, or tertiary. Authors of primary sources analyze data. Secondary and tertiary sources interpret and summarize other sources. Primary sources are often the most up-to-date, but can be difficult to read and understand. Secondary and tertiary sources are often easier to understand, but have undergone additional interpretation.
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Primary Sources Original research, evidence, and analysis Examples: Research articles, Patents, Research data, Lab notes, Conference papers, Clinical trials Search tip: Did the authors themselves collect or analyze data? If the answer is yes, it is probably primary research. |
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Secondary Sources Summaries, evaluations, or interpretations of others' original research Examples: Review articles, Book reviews, Annotated bibliographies Search tip: Scholarly review articles are usually easier to understand than the primary literature. Try adding the term "review" to your search strategy to find them. |
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Tertiary Sources Collections and summaries of primary and secondary sources Examples: Reference books, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Chemical property databases, Indexes Search tip: Try searching by the "Registry Number" to pull up properties in chemical databases. |
