Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— August 1998 —
Chemical Abstracts (Print)
Teaching Points
- 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
Teaching Materials