Falvey Memorial Library :: Chemistry 1151

Article #1: Popular News Source

You may already have a popular news article. If you do not, use ProQuest Newsstream.

1. Pick a keyword. Either a word or phrase that describes a chemistry-related topic that interests you. If you can't think of a keyword that you like, use "chemicals."

2. Enter your keyword in the search box. Hit the Enter key or Click on the search button at the end of the search box.

You will get false hits. Articles that mention your keyword but are not about the keyword. For example, if you search for "chemistry" you will find articles that are about athletes or actors with good chemistry.

You will also get articles from sources that are not popular news sources.

3. On the Results page, look for Source Type in the left column. Click on Newspapers.

4. Further down in the left column, click on Subject to reveal the subjects. The subjects with the most articles are at the top. You can see more subjects by clicking on More>. Any chemistry-related subject is good.

5. Click on the subject you like (if you did not expand to More). If you did expand, click on the left check box (in the include column).

The subject you selected should now be the first subject in the list. The other subjects are probably better now.

6. Add more subjects as you wish.

7. Browse the result list for an article you like.

8. Click on Full Text. You do not need the Find It button. ProQuest Newsstream is a full text database. The Find It button will connect you to other databases that you do not need at this time.

Article #2: Scientific Article

This is probably the most difficult article to find because the number of science magazines is far smaller than both popular news sources (article #1) and science journals (article #3). There are far fewer articles from which to choose.

Start with ProQuest Science Database. This works just like ProQuest Newsstream.

1. Pick keywords from article #1. Your first choice may not work, so it helps to have more than one. If a scientist is named, that person is often a good keyword. You may need to look for a broader topic for this article. For example, instead of "Chlorpyrifos" you may need to search for "pesticides."

2. Enter your keyword in the search box. Hit the Enter key or Click on the search button at the end of the search box.

3. On the Results page, look for Source Type in the left column. Click on Magazines and/or Trade Journals.

4. If you do not like the results, go further down on the left column and click on Publication Title. You can see more titles by clicking on More>.

5. Click on the publication title you like best (if you did not expand to More). If you did expand, click on the left check box (in the include column). Feel free to select more than one title.

6. Browse the result list for an article you like.

7. Click on Full Text if it is there. But you may need to use the Find it button. This button may connect you to the article or it may connect you to the interlibrary loan form. We should be able to quickly get the article for you.

Article #3: Primary Research Article

1. Look for a specific reference to an article. It may be in a bibliography or the article might say something like "In a study published in Environmental Science and Technology." If you have a journal title, useu may have a reference to a primary research article. If so, use Journal Finder. Search for the title of the journal.

2. Start with ProQuest Science Database but for Source Type choose Scholarly Journals. This is a relatively small database.

3. If you need a wider selection, use Scopus. Search for keywords that describe the original research referred to in the magazine article. Or words that describe the topic. You do not have to find the actual article. Sometimes news is published before the primary research article.

3. In the left column, go to the Subject Area (you may need to click to expand) and check the box next to Chemistry. You may need to View more. There are other acceptable subject areas, but choose something related to chemistry.

4. Go down to Document Type (you may need to click to expand) and click on the box next to Article. This will limit you, in theory, to primary research articles.

5. Go down to Keyword (you may need to click to expand). Click on View more. Choose keywords that will focus the article on your topic.

6. Use the Find it button to get the full text or request it through interlibrary loan.