Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques

— August 1998 —

Search Strategies and Tactics

In addition to learning about the information tools students need to learn some search strategies and tactics.

Keys to using various resources effectively

Hill System for molecular formulas
Dealing with chemical nomenclature
- Use synonym indexes (Merck Index has synonyms)
- Be aware of Permuted names (toluene, trinitro)
- Be aware of which tools use common names vs. IUPAC vs. CAS

Strategies are overall approaches which can be applied to any extensive search problem

Choose the appropriate database for the job
- If you need information on medical uses of taxol use Medline, if you want to synthesize it; use CA
Start with the easiest tools and work up
- If you can find a boiling point in the CRC Handbook, why use Beilstein?
- If you can find a synthesis in Organic Syntheses, why look in Chemical Abstracts?
Find the keys which will unlock other tools.
- Easy sources for finding Registry Numbers
- Good synonym indexes
- Search for review articles
  - Registry #'s & Beilstein references in CRC Handbook, Aldrich Catalog
  - Synonyms (and CA names) in Merck Index
  - Add the word “review” to your search strategy
Use pearl growing or the iterative approach. (Find something good, then build on it)
- Search the keywords or authors from that “good paper”
- Look up the bibliography and build on it
- Do citation searches on the “good paper”
Ask someone who knows!
- A librarian
- An expert in the field