ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: Home

Organic Chemistry and the Library

Organization of Organic Chemistry print resources-

Library resources are organized by the Library of Congress Subject Headings, LCSH. The subject heading for Chemistry is QD. Under this subject heading are subheadings for:

Organic Chemistry                             QD241-QD441

Physical Organic Chemistry                QD476

Analytical Chemistry                          QD71-QD142

Physical & Theoretical Chemistry       QD450-QD731

These books are on the bookshelves located on the first level MAP of the Marriott Library - about the middle of the building. Take some time to browse through the stacks to see what is there. There is still a lot of print resources not found in digital format.

Acquiring research publications-

At this point in time most journals in the sciences are being published electronically. If you have a citation, then using the Library's list of online journals is the quickest way to obtain the publication. If you have a topic, then using an article database such as Scifinder is the most efficient way to search for publications on a specific topic.

Keep in mind that not all the older editions of journals can be found electronically or that the Library has even purchased the older editions. We do have print editions of older journals, which are all shelved in the ARC, the Automated Retrieval Center. To learn more about retrieving journals from the ARC see their website. You can also request an article through Interlibrary Loan and Document Services. When you request an article through this service, Library staff will retrieve the journal, scan the article and send it to you via email. If the Library does not own it, then we will borrow it from another university and, again, send it to you via email. The process can take up to 48 hours. Check out the Interlibrary Loan page and while there set up your account. NOTE: This system now uses your UNID.

Citing publications-

In your reports you will need to cite the information that is not your own. Citing references should follow the format of the American Chemical Society, ACS. The ACS Style Guide can be accessed electronically or in print. The print copy is located on the 1st floor at call number QD8.5A25. You can start here for information on ACS citation style. (Yes, librarians share libguides so we all do not have to reinvent the wheel.) The one section you will be ignoring is on citing spectra. 

NOTE:When you access the electronic version of the ACS Style Guide, look on the right hand side of the page towards the top and you will see some text in green Subscriber access provided by UNIV OF UTAH. If you do not see this text then logon into Off Campus Access so ACS recognizes you. If you still do not see the text then call or email me so I can correct the error. This goes for any online publication you encounter.

For journals the format is:

1st author last name, initial, qualifers; 2nd author last name, initial, qualifers; (for all authors up to 10, then use et al.). Title of Article (no quotes, capitalize first letter of words). Journal (official abbreviation and italicized) Year of publication, volume (italicized), inclusive pages (entire number).

Example:

Rahaman, H.;  Zhou, S.; Dodia, D.; Feinstein, S.I.; Huang, S.; Speicher, D.; Fisher, A.B.. Increased Phospholipase A2 Activity with Phosphorylation of Peroxiredoxin 6 Requires a Conformational Change in the Protein. Biochemistry 2012, 51, 5521–5530.

Note in the example the journal Biochemistry has no official abbreviation. Some of the official abbreviations can be found in the ACS Style Guide. If you don't find the one you need, contact Shane Wallace. Also, pay attention to the punctuation and, yes, the year is in a bold font, and the journal title and volume are italicized.

Citing spectra-

When citing the source of spectra, keep in mind that the spectra found in databases and websites (such as Scifinder, NIST) are extracted from a published research paper. Most often that source is provided. If the source is not provided, then the information may not be accurate and should not be used. Students and researchers should be in the habit of obtaining the original source to ascertain accuracy and whether the original paper has been redacted. Information in redacted papers may not be reused for research purposes. Since you will be obtaining the original source, then the ACS format for citing will be the same as for any journal article.

Organizing all those publications-

Collecting publications can get out of hand quickly if you are busy or your organization skills are limited. Since the '90s tools have been developed to assist in organizing personal citations, e.g. Refworks, Papyrus, Endnote. With the advancement of the web the pdf of  articles can now be stored or linked to within these systems. The Library supports Endnote, which has both a Web and client version. See the Library Guide, EndNote Basic and Desktop Support for additional information on how to use this tool. I would suggest that you start with the Basic Web version since it is free and easy to use.

Phone: 801-581-6273
Email
In-Person
Schedule a Research Consultation
More Subject Guides