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CHEM 348: Polymer Chemistry: Reference Searching

Intro to Reference Searching

One way to use SciFinder is to search the extensive literature using strategic search queries and filters. References in SciFinder, such as primary journal articles, review articles, and conference proceedings, are directly linked to the CAS registries of substances and reactions so that you can easily look up substance characteristics, and experimental protocols.

Saving Searches

Save references or reference sets from your search results by using the bookmark icon. Navigate to saved references by clicking the four dots at the top of the page.

Projects

  • Save selected references to project folders by either clicking the folder icon at the top right corner of a reference, or select as many references as you want, adding them with the larger folder icon at the top of the page.
  • Navigate to your projects by clicking the four dots at the very top of your search results.

Starting out

  • Make sure you select the "References" tab at the top of the page to conduct a literature search
  • Start with a search query. There are many ways to search SciFinder and you can combine search concepts by adding advanced search fields below. For example, you can use natural language, boolean operators, draw a molecule (using the draw tool), or a combination of all three.
  • See the "Literature Searching" section of the libguide for more information on constructing search queries and using boolean operators

Explore aspects of a reference by clicking the title or any of the boxes under the title in the search results:

  • Full Text  - Various options bring you to the library catalog, or to the publisher's website via the DOI
  • Substances - Explore substances related to the reference.
    • Click any substance panel to pull up a pop-up window where you can get more details, including information on related reactions, synthesis, and references.
    • Click "Get Substance Details" in the pop-up substance window to go to the CAS Registry entry where you can find key physical and experimental properties
  • Reactions - Explore reactions related to the reference. Some references may have no related reactions indexed.
    • View experimental protocols, including linked reagents and solvents
  • Citing - Explore reference citing your selected literature using this forward-citation tool. This function can be helpful to see how scholarship is progressing in a particular field of study.

Facets: Filter or Exclude

Look to the left-hand side of your results set to filter or exclude by a number of different facets

  • Search within results to filter or exclude by chosen query
  • Choose "Filter by" or "Exclude" under Filter Behavior
  • Some helpful facets:
    • Document Type (Ex. Exclude patents)
    • Publication year (Choose a desired date range)
    • Organization (See top 5 organizations publishing in your results set)
    • Concept (Ex. Search polymers to see all types that have been indexed in results set)
    • ***TIP: Click the "View All" link under a particular facet to see the full range of options. This is particularly helpful when using the concept facets.