Chemistry Research Guide

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Check out the tabs on the left for focused recommendations for resources in each category.

Top Databases for Chemistry:

SciFinder-n (Registration required) This link opens in a new window
You must register for a SciFinder account before you can use the database.

SciFinder is the most comprehensive bibliographic database for scholarly research in the field of chemistry. It contains over 52 million citations and indexes over 50,000 journals, covering all aspects of chemistry, including chemical aspects of: biology and life sciences, engineering and materials science, food science, geology, medicine, physics, and polymer science. SciFinder also allows searching of chemical substances, chemical reactions, and includes some property data and spectra. It is the online version of Chemical Abstracts.

[Coverage: 1907-present, with selected pre-1907 material]
[Cited Reference Searching: 1996 - present, allows you to identify who is citing an article]
Alternative Names: SciFinder, Sci Finder, Chemical Abstracts, Chem Abstracts, Chem Abs, CAS
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary database of scholarly articles. Searches citation indexes in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, and Science. Includes "cited by" feature and allows sorting by citation count.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
For medical articles - this is the place to go. For the most up-to-date access to peer-reviewed articles on an incredible variety of biomedical topics, including medical research, genetics, bioinformatics, physiology, oncology, nursing and more. If you don't see the Get it at UC button in the Abstract display, you are not in the customized UC version!
UC Library Search This link opens in a new window
This searches across all 10 UC Library collections and beyond. Sign in using your CruzID Gold in order to find: books, e-books, articles, journals, films, maps, and more.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Database covering many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, and online repositories. Use Eduroam (on campus), or the VPN (off-campus) to access full-text of UCSC subscribed content.
CHEMnetBASE This link opens in a new window
Collection of CRC chemistry handbooks, including Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Properties of Organic Compounds, Combined Chemical Dictionary (CCD), Dictionary of Drugs, Dictionary of Marine Natural Products, Dictionary of Natural Products, Dictionary of Organic Compounds, Polymers: A Property Database.

See A-Z Database list for more.

Preprint Servers

ChemRxiv
A free online submission, distribution, and archival service for unpublished preprints in the chemistry sciences.
bioRxiv
The preprint server for the life sciences. Hosted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
arXiv.org
Open access to over one million e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance and Statistics.

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For access to e-books, online journals, databases:

Use your Cruz ID when prompted
- Easiest when starting from a UCSC Library webpage!
Use the Nomad extension for quick links to subscription-based full text.

ChemDraw

ChemDraw is a chemical drawing program, and is essential to learn for students who want to continue in Chemistry. The program is loaded onto all the workstations in the Digital Scholarship Commons on the ground floor of McHenry Library.

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