CHM 1210L/CHM 1220L: Home

Topic 1 (CHM 1210): Writing successful chemistry lab reports:

Use QuickSearch or Google Scholar for this topic. You'll find links to them on this page and the databases list on the library homepage.

Here is a sample search string on a different topic: How do scientists use twitter in scholarly communication?. It has useful keywords and some expert searching strategies that you can use when searching for your "Writing successful chemistry lab reports" topic.

QuickSearch: scien* twitter "scholarly communication"

Google Scholar: scientists twitter "scholarly communication"

Topic 2: The wavelength of atomic lines (for Argon) in the visible part of the spectrum

Option 1: Use Google or Google Advanced Search (both linked from this page in the left column) to find literature on the wavelengths. Try one of these search strings:

visible wavelength argon OR visible lines argon

Option 2: Or use this print resource in the Dunbar Library: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (any edition 1990-current). See Section 10: Line Spectra of the Elements

Option 3: Or try the NIST Atomic Spectra Database Lines Form  - also linked under Properties Info tab of the Chemistry Guide. Search for Argon I 

Chemistry faculty advise that you will see mostly neutral Ar or Ne and that this is sometimes referred to as Ar I or Ne I. Ne II would be Ne + 1.

"How would you use your source(s) to determine which lines we are likely to actually see? Given that both the lines you see and those you find in the literature are limited to the visible spectrum and that you are likely to find many "extra" lines in the literature, what information could you use to pick out only the ones we could see?"

To find the color of argon  light: Choose Google Advanced Search (linked from this page): color argon (in "all of these words" box) AND .edu (in "site or domain" box) 

Topic 2 (CHM 1220): 

Try this search string. It will give you a good start at seeing how scientists talk about freezing point depression. Your search results will give you clues of other terms to try, also.

freez*  and point and depress*

QuickSearch is the default search on the library home page -- or you can use the link below.  The videos below provide examples of how to search and find full text in QuickSearch.

NOTE:  In QuickSearch when limiting to scholarly journals or academic journals, you might retrieve some results that have an icon to the left of the citation that reads "Review" instead of "Academic Journal".  Usually, these are book reviews and will NOT count as an acceptable journal article.

Hints:

• Like all experiments, database exploration requires time and adaptability.
• Don't be too literal with your search terms.  Typing the exact phrase you were given does not always work well when it comes to searching library databases.  You have to think beyond that.  Remember, experiment.
  • You should try the terms you were were given but also try other strategies -- like spelling out acronyms, using other terms that might be relevant (even if they were not mentioned in your assignment), and/or retrying the search without certain words if they were not helpful. 
  • Pay attention to the keywords you see in your your search results.  
  • Think about who needs the information.  Can that help you with your search?
• QuickSearch does not require you to use AND to connect your search terms.  It will assume that AND is connecting all of your search terms.
• Keep an open mind when looking through your search results. An article may not be for the audience you think or the type of journal you expected, but does it answer the question?
• Avoid book reviews (see the note in bold type above).

Chemistry

Use QuickSearch for this topic (link available at the bottom of this box).

You can use these common search strategy methods for any search you do.  Most library databases and search engines support these functions.

• Using quotation marks around more than one word forces the database to search those words together as an exact phrase.  So, you will get fewer results this way, but the results you do get will be more relevant.  (It is not necessary to put quotation marks around a search term if it is only one word).
• Putting an asterisk (*) at the end of a word root searches that word root and any variation of letters that might follow.  For instance, chem* would get chemistry, chemical, or chemically.

Remember, it is important to be willing to experiment with different combinations of search terms and limiters to try to find the most relevant results available, regardless of the topic you are searching.  I have listed multiple strategies below for you to try.

Strategy #1:

First concept: “cold pack” or “hot pack” or “heat pack” or "ice pack" or "thermal pack"

Second concept: uses  or invent* or applications

Then, limit to magazines, academic journals, or trade publications to the left of your results.  You might also find the "subjects" a helpful way to limit.

Strategy #2

First concept: “cold pack” or “hot pack” or “heat pack” or "ice pack" or "thermal pack"

Second concept: chem*

Again, limit to magazines, academic journals, or trade publications to the left of your results.  You might also find the "subjects" a helpful way to limit.

Strategy #3

First concept: cold pack or hot pack or heat pack or ice pack or thermal pack [quotes removed in order to increase number of results]

Second concept -journal title (choose SO in the drop down menu to the right first, then type in): journal of chemical education

This search gets only results from the Journal of Chemical Education so no limiting is necessary.

History

This is a bit trickier.

Of course you can find information about the invention of hot and cold packs from a Google search, but much of it is from .com sites.

How do you find more credible information about the history of hot packs or cold packs?

Patents are a good option because they not only describe the invention itself at the time the patent was filed but they also try to establish the need for the invention--how it differs from products or devices that perform a similar function and why that is important.

So, a patent will not only give you information about the invention, but also about the science behind it and the similar inventions that came before.  Therefore, it also cites the patents for prior inventions. 

Searching Google for terms such as ice pack patent or heat pack patent (or variations on these terms, like cold pack or hot pack or thermal pack) will obviously get more than one patent, but you can get an idea of how various heat packs and cold packs developed over time by checking the dates and the descriptions in the various patents.

Or, if you found an inventor name, you can search by the inventor.  Google also has its own patents search (linked at the bottom of this box) where you can put in just the inventor name or just the product name.

Google can be a great place to start your search for free information. Google Scholar helps you find scholarly information that may or may not be free. Wright State University Libraries pays for you to have access to many of the fee-based articles that you find in Google Scholar.

Whether using Google or Google Scholar, be sure to evaluate what you find.