LibGuides: CHEMISTRY RESEARCH GUIDE: Home

LibGuides Menu

Ask a Librarian
Boatwright Library Home
Citing Sources
more...less...
Reference guide with examples for citing sources in MLA, APA, and Chicago.
Interlibrary Loan
Journal Titles

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
A discovery tool that searches most of the University Libraries' collections, including books, journal articles, newspapers, dissertations, music, and video recordings.

Library databases for chemistry

Use online databases to locate references to journal articles, book chapters, books, and more. Most online databases provide abstracts but many will also link you to full-text resources. Use Journal Titles /Journal Locator to determine which journal titles you may access at UR.

SciFinder-n is the world's largest and most comprehensive database of chemical information. Instructions for first-time users of SciFinder-n can be found in the box to the left.

SciFinderⁿ This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive research tool used to locate and process information on a wide variety of chemistry-related topics. Users must register for an individual login.
The electronic version of Chemical Abstracts, SciFinder Scholar allows structure, substance, and patent searching as well as citation searching in chemistry, the biomedical sciences, physics, engineering, materials science, and agricultural science. Includes Medline.; Citations and abstracts; patents; structure, spectral data
Reaxys This link opens in a new window
An online research solution designed to retrieve precise and accurate property, reaction and synthesis data from a collection of peer-reviewed literature, patents and substance databases. In addition, it can be used as a bibliographic research solution for chemistry and related sciences. The answers on properties, reactions, etc. always include links to the full-text source material and searches for authors, journal titles, publication years, etc. are also possible.
Combines the contents of three databases: CrossFire Beilstein, CrossFire Gmelin and the Patent Chemistry Database. It extracts chemical reactions, chemical substances, and measured substance property data (including physical, biochemical and spectroscopic data) from a selected core of chemistry journals (1771-present) and selected chemistry patent publications (1869-present). Patents cover selected organic chemistry patent publications (1869-1980) and selected English-language patent publications (WO, US, EP; 1976-) from the primary International Patent Class IPC. Additional historical (1869-1980) patent coverage comes from the Beilstein and Gmelin files.
Cambridge Structural Database This link opens in a new window
Both a repository and a validated and curated resource for the three-dimensional structural data of molecules generally containing at least carbon and hydrogen, comprising a wide range of organic, metal-organic and organometallic molecules.
Medline This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive index to biomedical literature
Provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 4,800 current biomedical journals. Also encompasses those areas of the life sciences, behavioral sciences, chemical sciences, and bioengineering needed by health professionals and others engaged in basic research and clinical care, public health, health policy development, or related educational activities. Covers life sciences vital to biomedical practitioners, researchers, and educators, including aspects of biology, environmental science, marine biology, plant and animal science as well as biophysics and chemistry.; Citations and abstracts; 1946 - present
Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new window
Citation and keyword index to scholarly journals in the liberal arts & sciences
Comprehensive citation database with multidisciplinary coverage of journals in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities, as well as international proceedings coverage. The database covers approximately 160 disciplines ranging from Agriculture to Zoology.; Citations and abstracts; 1976 - present; Includes Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and Science Citation Index Expanded.
Biological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference database covering life sciences journal literature.
Includes abstracts from peer-reviewed academic journal articles in the fields of biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, pre-clinical and experimental medicine, pharmacology, zoology, agriculture, and veterinary medicine.; Citations and abstracts; 1985 - present
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of scholarly journal literature
Interdisciplinary journal archive of titles in the arts, botany, business, ecology, general science, history, mathematics, and the social sciences. Many journal runs go back to the 19th century and before with subject coverage going back to the medieval period and up to within 3-5 years of current (depending on journal title).; Full-text and full image; Varies by title; current within 3-5 years; Coverage is constantly expanding with the addition of more scholarly journals to the collection. Moving wall publishes to within 3-5 years of most titles that are still in publication.
Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Literature reviews prepared annually providing an overview of primary research material within the Biological, Medical, Physical, and Social Sciences.
Electronic access to the reviews with links into Medline and Web of Knowledge from the bibliographies; Full-text: 1996 - present; Table of Contents: 1986-1995

Background information & key reference works in chemistry

Use encyclopedias and dictionaries to obtain an overview of your subject, an understanding of basic concepts, a summary of key issues, and definitions. Articles frequently include bibliographies and may refer you to other entries on related topics.

Handbooks provide a wealth of information - physical constants, data, tabular materials - in all areas of chemistry.

AccessScience (the online edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology)
REF Q121 .M3 2007
Aldrich Library of FT-IR Spectra
QC457 .P87 1997
Aldrich Library of Infrared Spectra *
REF QD96 .I5 P67 1981
Aldrich Library of 13C and 1H FT NMR Spectra *
REF QC462.85 .A44 1993
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics *
REF QD65 .H3
Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds
REF QD257.7 .H36 1994 *
Dictionary of Chemical Names and Synonyms
REF TP9 .H65 1992
A Dictionary of Chemistry
REF QD5 .D4985 2008
Dictionary of Organic Compounds *
REF QD246 .D5 1996
Encyclopedia of Analytical Science *
REF QD71.5 .E53 2005
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
REF TP9 .K54 2004
Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry
REF QD148 .E53 2005
Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis (e-EROS)
or QD77 .E53 1995
Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary *
REF QD5 .C5 2007
How to Find Chemical Information
REF QD8.5 .M34 1998
Lange's Handbook of Chemistry *
REF QD65 .L3
Material Safety Data Sheets
Available through LexisNexis Academic
Merck Index *
REF RS51 .M4 2006
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms *
REF Q123 .M34 2003
Oxford Reference Online (Dictionary of Chemistry)
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia
REF Q121 .V3 2008

* Also available in Science Reading Room, Gottwald