Databases for Chemists and Chemical Engineers

Chemical Abstracts

SciFinder Scholar | CAS Online | Standard Abbreviations | Index Guide | Guide to CASREACT | Structure Searching with STN Express

SciFinder Scholar at Stanford University

SciFinder Scholar (SFS) is a graphical software package that lets you search Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) databases with minimal or no training. Macintosh and Windows versions of SFS are available. SFS is only available for Stanford students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, visiting scholars, and staff. Only a small number of people can use SFS at one time on campus, so be sure to log off when finished searching. Sessions are ended automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Download: To obtain SFS 2007, first read the PC User Agreement or the Macintosh User Agreement. After reading and accepting the conditions, you will be able to download SFS to your local workstation. Read the SFS installation instructions for the PC or for the Mac.

Users of SciFinder Scholar for Windows should also download the Patch Installer for ViewerLite 5.0.

The Swain blog covers some SciFinder Scholar problems and fixes.

Remote Access: Off-campus access to SFS is available via a web browser and the Citrix plug-in.

Old Versions: SFS is updated yearly and only the two most recent versions (2006, 2007) work.

Help and Support

• SciFinder Scholar Software Support
• Getting Started with SciFinder Scholar 2007 (pdf)
  Mac OS X version (pdf)
• SciFinder Scholar 2006 Help | SciFinder Scholar 2007 Help
• SciFinder Scholar ‘How To’ Guides (includes sample searches)
• What’s New From CAS
• Information retrieval: SciFinder and SciFinder Scholar / Damon D. Ridley. Chichester : Wiley, c2002. xv, 235 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Location: Swain Library Z699.5 .S3 R53 2002, Internet. This is an excellent book. The web site contains answers to the problems in the books as well as an overview of SciFinder Scholar screens (Appendix 8).
• CAS Product Support
• CAS Science Spotlight: Most Cited and Most Requested Documents
• Chemical Abstracts: Printed and Database (Clearinghouse for Chem. Info. Instructional Materials)

Sample Searches

Below are sample searches that illustrate methods you can use. Chemical Abstracts produces two versions of its user-friendly client interface for searching CAS Online: SciFinder Scholar (SFS) for academic users, and SciFinder (SF) for commercial users. While there are some differences between SFS and SF, they share many features. Because search examples for SFS and SF complement one another, I have included examples from both SFS and SF below.

Bibliographic Searches

Explore by Author Name

• Sample Author Search

  Shows how to do an author search, display a full record in results, and link to the full-text of an article.

Explore by Research Topic

• Sample Research Topic Search

  Simple search that shows using phrases results in small number of choices in results. Includes displaying results of a full record, and choices available if you want to get related records.

Get Related

• Get Related — Citing and Cited References

  See which papers cite or were cited in search results.

Explore by Company Name/Organization

• Sample Search Using Refine (SFS)

Browse Table of Contents (SFS)

Chemical Substance and Reaction Searches

• Chemical Name or CAS Registry Number
  • Sample Chemical Name Search

    Includes displaying full record and defining icons that appear in brief display.

• Molecular Formula Searches (SF)
  • Formatting Formulas for Homopolymers, Copolymers, and Monomer Salts of Acids and Amines (SFS)

    Includes displaying full record and getting literature references.

• Chemical Structure — Exact Match
  • Sample Exact Chemical Structure Search

    Typical chemical structure search that also shows how to see property and supplier information.

  • Linking to Commercial Sources (SFS)
• Chemical Structure — Substructure Searching Overview (SFS)
  • Controlling Substitution (SFS)
  • Controlling Ring Formation (SFS)
  • Decision Chart (SFS)
  • Sample Substructure Search (SFS)
• Synthetic Pathways Searching Overview (SFS)
  • Full Reaction Searching (SFS)
  • Preparation Searching (SFS)
  • Functional Group Searching (SFS)
  • Searching for Reaction Mechanisms (SFS)

Special Topics

• Polymer Searching Overview (SFS)
  • Polymer Formula Searching (SFS)
    • Formatting Formulas for Homopolymers, Copolymers, and Monomer Salts of Acids and Amines (SFS)
  • Polymer Structure Searching (SFS)
  • Polymer Class Searching (SFS)
• e-Seminar Archive (SF)

Databases in SFS

• CAS Databases
• CAplus Database
• CAS Registry File
• CASREACT Database
• CHEMCATS (Commercially Available Chemicals)
• CHEMLIST (Regulated Chemicals Information)
• ChemPort: Connecting to Full-Text Documents on the Web from SFS

Content in SFS and CAS

By the Numbers

• CAS Statistical Summary 1907-2007 (pdf)
• Latest CAS Registry Number and Substance Count

Sources

• Core Journals Covered in CAplus
• Coverage of English-Translation Journals in Chemical Abstracts
• Patent Coverage in Chemical Abstracts
• CAS Document Delivery Services: Title Search

Bibliographic Information

• The Sections of Chemical Abstracts
• Printed Chemical Abstracts
• CA Index Guide. Appendix I. 1994 Edition.
• CAS Standard Abbreviations and Greek Letters

Substance and Reaction Information

• Frequently Used CA Index Headings for Classes of Compounds (search as Research Topics)
• Functional Groups in CASREACT
• Functional Groups: Class Terms in CASREACT
• Functional Groups: Ring Terms in CASREACT
• Polymer Class Terms in the Registry File (pdf)

CAS Online via STN

Documentation

• STN News: The STN Bi-Monthly Newsletter
• STN Documentation
• Basic STN Commands
• STN Quick Reference Cards
• STN Quick Reference Guides
• STN Database Summary Sheets
• CAS Online Cheat Sheet: STN Version
• Polymer Information in STN
• Finding and Verifying CAS Registry Numbers on STN

Web Tutorials

• STN Basics Tutorial
• Mastering STN Commands
• Using CAS Databases on STN
• Using the CAS Registry File on STN
• Using the CAS Registry File: Structure Searching (~3.8MB PDF)
• Practice Problems for Basic Structure Searching (~196kB PDF)

Training Materials

• An Introduction to Computer Searching of Chemical Abstracts: STN Version
• Structure Searching Using STN Express: A Workshop
• Guide to Searching CASREACT by Functional Group and by CAS Registry Number
• CAS Online Quiz
• CAS e-seminars (STN; note some features not available via SFS)

For more information contact:
Grace Baysinger
Head Librarian & Bibliographer
E-mail: graceb@stanford.edu
Phone: (650) 725-1039