Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques

— August 1998 —

Chemical Abstracts (Print)

Comprehensive index to the chemical literature
- 8,000 journals; 1,300 of which are now indexed cover to cover
- patents from 28 nations and two international organizations
- 1907 to present; updated weekly (CA Plus updated daily)
- over 700,000 abstracts per year
- over 18 million compounds indexed
- CAS website contains updated statistics on CA coverage, size, composition
Sources Included
- journals (from all countries and in all languages)
- conference proceedings
- review articles
- patents
- books, dissertations
Sections of printed CA
What is an abstract and how to read an entry in CA
How to identify a review article, book, patent
Indexes
Importance of the Index Guide
- Frequency of indexes
  “volume” indexes; “collective” indexes
- Types of indexes
  - Chemical Substance index
    - CAS nomenclature vs trivial name
    - inverted name format
      benzene, methyl-
    - Sources for CAS names
      - MF index
      - Index Guide
      - Merck Index
      - Dictionary of Organic Compounds
      Table of CAS name sources
    Lecture on Substance Index
  - Author index
    - Alphabetical by first and middle INITIALS.
    - CA vol. #, abstract no. only given under first-named author.
  - Formula index
    Use Hill Order
    Hill Order exercise
  - General Subject Index
    Classes of compounds indexed here (NOT in the substance index!)
    Key to subject index entries
  - Patent Index