SciFinder Scholar

From WolfWikis

SciFinder Scholar is used to find literature and chemical property information in chemistry and related fields. It is the electronic version of Chemical Abstracts. By default, SciFinder Scholar searches both the CAPlus (chemical abstracts) database and MEDLINE.

NCSU faculty, staff, and students can download the client software from the Libraries' web site. An instructional handout (MS Word document) is also available.

Accessing the database

SciFinder Scholar can be downloaded from the Libraries’ web site: Please note that access to the database is restricted to NC State University IP addresses (i.e., it must be used on campus).

• Click Databases under the red Search the Collection area
• Locate SciFinder Scholar in the alphabetical index, or go directly to: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/searchcollection/databases/scifinder_scholar.html
• Follow the directions to download the appropriate software for your computer

SciFinder Scholar is also available on many computers in the Libraries. Ask at the reference desk for assistance.

Getting started

Upon starting up the software, you are connected to Chemical Abstracts Service databases. You will see three options:

1. Explore – Search for literature by topic, or search chemical structures
2. Locate – Get information on a specific chemical, or find a specific document
3. Browse – Use this to scan tables of contents for major journals

You can always return to the home screen by clicking the New Task button.

Literature searching in SciFinder Scholar

The Explore menu in SciFinder Scholar

From start (or New Task), click Explore

• Select Research Topic (or Author, etc.)
• Enter search terms
  • SciFinder will strip out all stop words (terms that are not research concepts)
  • No phrases, quotes, parentheses, wildcards, or Booleans (AND, OR). You can include them if it makes sense to you to build the search that way, but they'll be ignored when finding results.

To improve results:

• Use Filters prior to search
• Use Analyze/Refine button following search

Use Microscope icon for details, including abstracts.

Use Paper icon to link to full text, if available.

Check papers of interest and use the "Get Related..." button to search for cited references and citing references.

Chemical searching in SciFinder Scholar

To find exact matches, using name or identifier under the Locate option is generally the fastest approach. From start (or New Task), click Locate

• Select Locate Substances
• Enter search terms
  • CAS number is most concise and uniquely identifies a substance
  • Common names or other identifiers usually work

To find similar and related matches, use the Explore option. From start (or New Task), click Explore

• Select Chemical Structure or Molecular Formula
• Draw structure or enter formula
  • For structure searches, multiple levels of search precision are available.
  • Molecular formula searches may also retrieve related compounds.

To examine results:

• Use Microscope for details, including property data
• "Paper" icon links you to references
• A-->B links you to reactions
  • Use this option and select Product as the reaction role to get synthesis references
  • Check the finding synthesis methods in SciFinder Scholar page for more information.
    • Tip for CH223L students: helpful to go to View--reverse order and view the oldest first. For your assignment, older articles may be easier to use.
    • You can see from the reactions how your chemical might be produced, but check the abstract (microscope icon, or click on the citation) to be sure it's clear.
    • Click the paper icon to link to full text. You should be able to get to it, provided the Libraries subscribe to the journal, and full text is online. We'll have most articles online, regardless of their age.

Structure searching in SciFinder Scholar

The structure editor in SciFinder Scholar

From start (or New Task), click Explore

• Draw and edit structures, or
• Import known structures to edit
  • Find known substance via chemical search (described above)
  • Click on structure, then Explore By Chemical Structure (v.2007 and later). Or highlight and Copy CAS number, then Paste in structure editor (versions earlier than 2007).

To search:

• Select Get Substances or Get Reactions

For more help on this topic, check structure searching in SciFinder.

Saving search results

• Save references
  • Optionally use checkboxes to mark useful citations. (Skipping this step will save all results.)
  • Click Save As button. Click Options to check formatting. Save in RTF format for later reading. Save in Tagged Format for import to citation management software (RefWorks or Endnote).
• Save structures (within structure editor)

Errors and troubleshooting

See the SciFinder errors page.

More help

More help, tutorials, and demos are available from CAS' site. They feature specific strategy sections on small-molecule searching, synthetic chemistry, and polymer chemistry.

Please ask the chemistry librarian if you need more help.