Top Databases in Chemistry
Here is a selected list of Chemistry article databases, ranked in order of importance. Contact Pilar Baskett at Pilar.Baskett@unt.edu. if you encounter any difficulties registering for SciFinder-n.
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SciFinder-nSciFinder-n requires registration at https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=https://origin-scifinder.cas.org/registration/index.html?corpKey=3574ABFD-86F3-50AB-5853-7F37D9CB1A36 using a yourname@my.unt.edu or firstname.lastname@unt.edu email address. The email will need to be validated within 96 hours before you can use SciFinder-n. SciFinder-n is a research discovery application that provides access to references, substances, and reactions in chemistry and related sciences.
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American Chemical Society JournalsACS (American Chemical Society) publishes more than 40 peer-reviewed journals with articles across a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines which include chemistry, physics, and biology. The Web Edition platform helps ACS present cutting-edge content, allowing users to view articles as they’re published.
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Scopus
Scopus is a curated abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, and features tools to track, analyze and visualize research. This resource delivers a comprehensive overview of the world’s research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus allows users to search the literature, follow citations, and see who cited an article. Researchers can also use Scopus metrics to help demonstrate the value of their work.
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Web of scienceWeb of Science provides users access to integrated, multidisciplinary research with sizable search and navigation options. Web of Science can connect users with over 12,000 journals worldwide, including open-access journals.
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Engineering SourceEngineering Source offers cover-to-cover indexing for over 3,000 publications, including journals, monographs, magazines and trade publications, all directly dealing with engineering-related issues. Energy-focused monographs, books, conference papers and proceedings are also included.
Steps to Creating Search Strategies
Six Steps to Smart Searching
Identify the keywords in your research question.
Keywords are words that carry content and meaning. The keywords in the research question "What is the feeding range of the blue whale in the Pacific Ocean?" are feeding range, blue whale and Pacific Ocean.
Brainstorm synonyms for your keywords.
Think of words similar to your keywords in case a database doesn't use your original keywords. Synonyms for blue whale are baleen whale and Balaenoptera musculus.
Create Boolean searches using the keywords.
A Boolean search is a search using the words AND, OR and NOT between the keywords. These words have a special function when used in a database.
- The search [blue whale AND Pacific Ocean] will find all of the articles that contain both words. AND makes your search narrower.
- The search [blue whale OR Balaenoptera musculus] will find all articles that contain one word, or the other, or both. OR is placed between synonyms and makes your search broader.
- The search [blue whale NOT Atlantic Ocean] will find all articles containing "blue whale" and exclude the articles that also contain "Atlantic Ocean." NOT excludes articles that you don't want.
Use the truncation symbol (or wildcard symbol) to search for word variations.
You can avoid doing multiple searches for variations on word endings using the truncation symbol * (the asterisk) in most databases. Entering the keyword "blue whale*" will look for both blue whale and blue whales.
Add keywords to limit the type of article you retrieve.
If you want a literature review, add "AND review" to your keywords. To find a research study, add "AND study" to your keywords.
Enter your Boolean searches in the Advanced Search of a database.
Always go to the Advanced Search in a database to enter your Boolean searches because it gives you multiple boxes with the Boolean operators between them. If you are using a search with multiple search strings, enter OR within the search boxes and AND between the search boxes, e.g., [blue whale OR Balaenoptera musculus] AND [feeding range OR feeding grounds] AND [Pacific Ocean].
Featured Journals
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Bulletin of the Chemical Society of JapanThe Bulletin publishes articles about Theoretical and Physical Chemistry, Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic and Biological Chemistry, and Applied and Materials Chemistry. It contains both articles and scientific accounts.
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Encyclopedia of Computational ChemistryThis encyclopedia contains articles that are cross-referenced, with technical terms explained in short definitions. The content covers seven areas of computational chemistry from ab-initio computations to biological and biochemical applications, and is presented in the following sections: Algorithms and Software; Biological and Biochemical Modeling; Chemical Applications; Cheminformatics; General Topics; Quantum Mechanics: Theory & Development; and Semi-Classical Methods.
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European Journal of Inorganic ChemistryThis journal publishes papers from the entire spectrum of inorganic, organometallic, bioinorganic, and solid-state chemistry. Subjects covered in this journal include Inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry, organometallic chemistry, catalysis, bioinorganic chemistry, solid state chemistry, materials science, supramolecular chemistry, stereochemistry, physical inorganic chemistry, main group chemistry, lanthanide chemistry, and actinide chemistry.
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Faraday Discussions of the Royal Society of ChemistryThe journal publishes papers, questions, discussions, and debates that take place at Faraday Discussions meetings. Each Faraday Discussion covers a topic in a developing area of chemistry, and topics span across all areas of the chemical sciences.
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International Journal of Chemical KineticsThis journal publishes research in gas phase, condensed phase, and polymer reaction kinetics, as well as biochemical and surface kinetics. The journal also presents new developments in applied theoretical kinetics and publishes large kinetic models, and the algorithms and estimates used in these models. These include methods for handling the large reaction networks important in biochemistry, catalysis, and free radical chemistry. In addition, the journal explores such topics as the quantitative relationships between molecular structure and chemical reactivity, organic/inorganic chemistry and reaction mechanisms, and the reactive chemistry at interfaces. Specific topics covered include Chemical Kinetics, Gas Phase Kinetics, Solution Kinetics, Reaction in Solids, Reaction Mechanisms, Rate Constants, Unimolecular, Bimolecular, High Temperature, Energy Transfer, Modeling, and Combustion.
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Journal of Chemical ResearchThis journal is a monthly publication that has a broad international authorship. The journal publishes research papers and reviews in all branches of experimental chemistry.
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Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference DataThis journal is published by AIP Publishing for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This journal provides critically evaluated physical and chemical property data, fully documented as to the original sources and the criteria used for evaluation, with uncertainty analysis. Critical reviews of measurement techniques may also be included if they shed light on the accuracy of available data in a technical area.
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NatureThis is a weekly international journal publishing peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology. The journal also provides news and interpretation of topical and coming trends affecting science, scientists, and the wider public.
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Physics and Chemistry of LiquidsThis journal publishes experimental and theoretical papers, letters and reviews aimed at furthering the understanding of the liquid state. Topics covered include the whole spectrum of liquids, from simple monatomic liquids and their mixtures, through charged liquids (e.g. ionic melts, liquid metals and their alloys, ions in aqueous solution, and metal-electrolyte systems) to molecular liquids of all kinds. The journal also covers quantum fluids and superfluids, such as Fermi and non-Fermi liquids, superconductors, Bose-Einstein condensates, correlated electron or spin assemblies.
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