Contact Your Librarian
Structure Searches and Other Environmental Chemistry Databases
- American Chemical Society Publications This link opens in a new windowACS publications from 1879-present. Click on "All Subjects" to browse, or navigate to a journal and/or paper of interest via the search.
- Environment Complete This link opens in a new windowJournals on topics including agriculture, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, urban planning, and more.
- PubChem This link opens in a new windowA freely available resource from the National Library of Medicine. Search for compounds, substances, BioAssays, academic literature, and more.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowSearches the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, as well as other biomedical / life sciences sources. Users may also search PubMed Central, which is the National Library of Medicine's freely available collection of biomedical and life sciences journal articles. Coverage starts in the 1800s and continues to present day.
- SciFinder This link opens in a new windowResearch from many scientific disciplines, searchable by keywords, substances, chemical compounds, and more. You must create an account before you can use the database. Available only to Elon students, faculty, and staff.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new windowIndexes tens of thousands of scholarly journals across all disciplines, as well as conference proceedings, monographs, and more. Pulls data from several different databases, but is traditionally strong in the sciences. Coverage (in Science Citation Index Expanded) starts in 1900 and continues to present day. Previously known as Web of Knowledge.
Looking for something else? Try any of the links on the Finding Sources page, or check out the Environmental Studies guide.
Dealing with scientific jargon
It's ok if you don't recognize all of the words in a scientific paper. This is actually a common occurrence! A few tips:
- You don't have to read linearly (that is, from the first sentence, in order, all the way to the last).
- Ask yourself: what question does this paper ask? What's the main point?
- Look for section headings (see below) of interest.
- How to (seriously) read a scientific paperThis is an older (from 2016) but still relevant piece from Science. Scientists at every stage, from students to professors and industry professionals, were asked: how do you read a scientific paper? Their responses are many and diverse.
