Chemistry searching
for non-University of Adelaide users
SciFinder Scholar (Chemical abstracts) is the best database for finding journal articles, theses, patents and other literature in chemistry, but its licence restricts use to University staff and students. Other users are not permitted to search SciFinder on Library computers or through Library staff. For some purposes the following chemistry alternatives may be adequate.
Printed Chemical abstracts
Free Web sites
- STN on the Web - Free Search Preview
STN on the Web has a free preview search option for running a preliminary search of Chemical abstracts and other databases. It doesn't give details of references but it does show the number of references, so gives an idea of how far it is worth searching other sources, especially for unusual chemical compounds.
- Environmental and MSDS databases
For data and selected references on substances of environmental interest.
- PubMed and PubChem
For data and selected references on drugs and substances of biological or medical interest.
- The web sites of major chemical journal publishers such as American Chemical Society, Elsevier,
Royal Society of Chemistry,
Springer,
Wiley VCH
can be searched and abstracts can be displayed.
- Google Scholar uses the Google search engine but searches journal articles, reports and other literature.
- Other free web sources listed in Chemistry resources.
Library databases - From public computers in the Library
Some other databases cover chemistry to some extent. Their chemical index terms are more limited than SciFinder's, so you should enter a greater variety of chemical name variations and fragments as search terms. The databases may not include CAS registry numbers.
Charged searches
- STN has a number of services for searching Chemical abstracts (CAS) and other databases. Its search service ScienceIP searches CAS and other databases for a fee. STN on the Web and STN Easy allow users to establish accounts and run their own searches. Check the STN web site for details.
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