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Chemistry 151: Finding Articles

Introductory Chemistry
Stephanie Christau

Narrow Your Search

Combine concepts with AND to find more relevant sources

picasso AND Africa

internet AND privacy

bedrock AND Massachusetts AND hydrology

 

Use “double quotes” to find exact phrases

"rock art"

“African diaspora”

“invertible matrix”

 

Use proximity searching* to find words near each other

women NEAR violence

progressive NEAR/10 tax

"global warming" NEAR/20 "sea level"

*Proximity searching works differently in different databases.  Check the help section of the database to learn how to properly use it.

Broaden Your Search

Use ORs and parentheses to combine synonyms or multiple topics

(oil OR petroleum OR crude)

(antibiotic OR antiviral)

(woman OR girl OR female)

 

Truncate roots of important words* to find plurals and more

perform* (searches for perform, performance, performativity, etc.)

cell$

pregnan!

 

Insert a “wild card” [*?$!] to catch words with different spellings

wom?n

coloni#ation

odo$r

 

*Truncation and wild cards work differently in different databases. Check the help section of the database to learn what symbol to use and how to properly use it.

Finding Articles

When looking for original, chemical research, you will need to find journal articles.  Use the suggested databases on the Chemistry Subject page to find information related to your topic.  View the links below to review the differences between scholarly and popular articles, to see how scholarly articles are organized, and to review the process of peer-review.  

How to Read a Scientific Paper

Research Tip: Find Text Button

The Find Text Button

Many of our databases have this SFX Find Text Button button, which searches for the full-text of the article in our collections. If we don't have it electronically, look for the "Request article scan" link in the "Get It" section.

screenshot of Get It section with link

Need help? You can ask!

Need Help? You can ask!

 

 

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