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CHEM 500 Becoming a Professional Scientist

Introduction to intellectual resources, including searching the literature, keeping current, and organizing information.

Substance information sources

SciFinder and Reaxys are go to sources for substance information, but information about chemical substances may be found in a wide variety of publications and on many kinds of websites.  These sources of information vary in quality, reliability, depth, and level of technicality.  

 

Information Websites

You should always check the information you find at an informational website against one or more reliable sources, such as handbooks or desk references or curated databases.  Here are some suggestions for starting points when looking for data and other information about chemical substances.

  • Wikipedia (check out the entry on atorvastatin) often gets a bad rap, but there is a dedicated community of chemists who maintain information on chemical substances and topics.
  • Web databases like ChemSpider and PubChem can be good sources of information

Handbooks and Desk References