Chemistry

• BrowZine allows you to browse scholarly journals available from the UO Libraries or from open sources on your tablet, iPhone or Android phone app. There is also a web version.
• View complete issues of journals including the table of contents.
• Be alerted when a new issue of a journal is published using the app.
• Save articles on your mobile device to read later even when you are off line.
• Create a personal library of up to 64 favorite journals.
• Download BrowZine articles to Dropbox, Mendeley, Zotero, and other services to help keep all of your information together in one place.

written directions for setting up WoS and Google Scholar alerts can be found on this NIH page.

Other tips keeping current with chemistry literature and more generally in this article.
Twitter has some solid chemistry, ways to break silos and tips for getting started.

Scientists and science professionals have to stay up-to-date with the literature that gets published in their field. Sharing information through publishing is central to a scientist's work.

"[T]he credit for a scientific discovery is awarded not to the scientist who discovers a phenomenon but to the scientist who publishes its discovery first" (Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of Scientific Discourse, Penrose and Katz, 10).

This suggests that you should use all the tools available to stay on top of new information. Below are some of the main ways scientists stay current.

(Click to Enlarge Image)

Long description of "How Scientists Stay Current" infographic for web accessibility

For more information, check out these resources:

These sources can help you identify a topic for your research, provide an overview of a specific issue or topic, and suggest other materials which might be useful for your research.

• Encyclopedias and Other Reference Sources
  Subject encyclopedias usually provide essay type articles and a list of citations, and thus can be a very useful starting point. General chemistry encyclopedias are located in Science Library Reference Collection, at the beginning of the QD section. There also are chemical dictionaries and handbooks in this section and in the general collection that might be useful. More specialized references in chemical sub-disciplines will be located elsewhere in Science Reference QD; also in QP (biochemistry/molecular biology), TA (materials science) and TP (chemical technology.) Below are some titles that may be helpful.
  • Chemistry : Foundations and Applications. [QD4 .C48 2004] 4 volumes
  • Dictionary of Chemical Names and Synonyms. [TP9 .H65 1992]
  • Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry. [QD415.A25 E53 2004] 4 volumes
  • Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd ed. [Q123 .E497 2002] This 18-volume work covers physics, chemistry, engineering and materials science.
  • Encyclopedia of Polymer Science & Technology [TP1110 .E53 2003] 12 volumes
  • Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary. [QD5. C5 2007]
  • Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. [TP9 .E685 1991] 27 volumes-use the index in the last volume!
  • Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. [QD415.A25 O94 2000]
  • Van Nostrand's Encyclopedia of Chemistry. [QD4 .V36 2005]
• Inorganic Chemistry
  • Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry. [QD474.C65 1987] 7 volumes
  • Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds. [QD148 .D53 1992] 5 volumes + supplement(s)
  • Inorganic Materials Chemistry Desk Reference. [TP200 .S26 1997]
  • Inorganic syntheses. [QD151 .A115]
• Organic Chemistry
  • Comprehensive Organic Synthesis. [QD262 .C535 1991]
  • Dictionary of Organic Compounds. [QD246 .D5 1982 and supplements]
  • Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds. [QD411 .D53 1984]
  • Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds. [QD257.7 .H36 1994]
  • Handbook of Organic Chemistry. [QD521.2 .B4813 1996b]
  • Names, Synonyms, and Structures of Organic Compounds: A CRC Reference Handbook. [QD291 .N36 1995]
  • Reagents for Organic Synthesis. (Fieser and Fieser) [QD262 .F5]
  • Vogel's Textbook of Organic Chemistry. [QD261 .V63 1989]

• Review Articles
  • Review articles provide a synopsis of the research in a particular area and can be good for getting an idea for a topic that's been thoroughly researched. While many research journals publish the occasional review article, there also are "review journals", which publish reviews exclusively. These articles have comprehensive bibliographies, so if an article interests you, you will have many potentially useful references to pursue. You might start with the Annual Review journals, which include, among others:
  • Annual Review of Biochemistry
  • Annual Review of Biophysics
  • Annual Review of Materials Research
  • Annual Review of Physical Chemistry
  • Two other important chemistry review journals are: Chemical Reviews and Chemical Society Reviews.