This guide is intended to assist students studying and researching topics in chemistry and physical science. It suggests ways to find both books and journal articles, using a wide variety of resources.
The Online Catalog may be a good place for you to start your research process. It will allow you to identify books in the Davis Memorial Library about your topic. The Online Catalog is available from any Internet accessible computer at http://davislibrary.methodist.edu/. Use the Keyword search to locate materials. Type in the concepts you are looking for, using "and" to combine terms (e.g. polymer? and chemistry).
Electronic databases are used to locate journal, magazine, or newspaper articles on a particular topic. Some databases are designated as full-text, which means that the whole text of the article is available in that database. You can print, save, or email that article. When using a database or any other tool in the Library, always write down the full citation to an article (author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, date, and pages) so you will have this information for your bibliography. If the article is not available with full-text, try Journal Finder to see if articles from that journal are available in another database or in print in the Library.
ACS Web Editions (American Chemical Society)
ACS Web Editions provides online access to the American Chemical Society's publications. You should start your chemistry research here. Use the "Full-Text Search" section and fill in the spaces required. The Library also subscribes to the Legacy Archives which begin coverage in 1879. Be sure to choose a date range if you want only current articles.
Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier is a general database with many full-text articles included. Use the button for full-text to limit your results to articles available immediately from the database. Also, select the "Scholarly" button to limit your results to scholarly, academic, peer-reviewed, and/or refereed journals. Remember to use Journal Finder for articles that do not have full-text included.
Science Direct: Health and Life Sciences
Science Direct: Health and Life Sciences contains more than 1,000 full-text journals. Users can browse journals by title and subject area. When searching, click the “Search” tab for the most precise search. Then click the “Journals” tab to start your search. To limit to journals with full-text, change the “Source” menu to “Subscribed Journals.” Limiting to “Article” will return only original research articles, and limiting to “Review Article” will return only articles containing a review of a significant body of research as well as a bibliography. You may also limit to dates and subjects. Note that the default date range is the last ten years.
Geobase
The database indexes over 2,000 periodicals dating from 1980 to the present. Although records are citation-only (meaning that the full-text of the articles is not available) most provide detailed abstracts.
Online Journals from the Geological Society of America
Abstracts are available for all articles and journals. Some Open Access (free) articles are available. Look for the OA logo.
The Reference section of the library is a good place to develop possible topics, begin your research, and find critical pieces of information to finish your project. Try some of the following titles for information.
| Title | Location | |
| General Science | ||
| Dictionary of Microscopy | R 502.8203 H437d 2005 | |
| Encyclopedia of Science and Technology | R 503 E56 2001 | |
| McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology | R 503 M147 1998 | |
| McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology | R 503 M147 1997 vol. 1-20 | |
| Nature Encyclopedia: An A-Z Guide | R 508.03 N285 2001 | |
| Notable Twentieth Century Scientists | R 509.22 N899 1995 v. 1-4 | |
| Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science | R 509 O98 2003 | |
| Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia | R 503 S416 2005 | |
| Chemistry | ||
| CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics | R 541.9 H236 | |
| The Elements | R 546 E55e 1998 | |
| Facts on File Dictionary of Chemistry | R 540.3 F142 1999 | |
| Handbook of Chemistry and Physics | R 541.9 H236 2004 | |
| Hawley’s Condensed Chemical Dictionary | R 540.3 C745 2007 | |
| Lange's Handbook of Chemistry | R 540.5 L276 2005 | |
| The Merck Index | R 615.103 M555 | |
| The Penguin Dictionary of Chemistry | R 540.3 P416 2003 | |
| Van Nostrand’s Encyclopedia of Chemistry | R 540.3 V217e 2005 | |
| Earth Science | ||
| Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather | R 551.503 E56 1996 v. 1-2 | |
| Oxford Companion to the Earth | R 550.3 O98 2000 | |
| Physics | ||
| Dictionary of Physics | R 530.03 C467d 1999 | |
| Encyclopedic Dictionary of Physics | R 530.03 T419e v.1-9 +supps. | |
| Oxford Dictionary of Physics | R 530.03 D554 2000 | |
The Library also owns two Chemistry CD-ROM products, located in the multimedia room: