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CHEM3322: Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry

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4. Search Literature

Search "References" in SciFinderⁿ [SciFinder-n]

Search topic: chelation by amine ligands [then focus on kinetics if the initial results are overwhelming]

Start with a natural language References search.

SciFinder-n opening screen. References option, selected by user, is blue. Search box contains phrase 'chelation by amine ligands'

Tip: The SciFindern search algorithm adds some alternative spellings, plurals, grammatical variants, and synonyms to your search terms.

Add Terms to a SciFinderⁿ [SciFinder-n] References Search

Boolean Operators

Boolean Operators in a SciFindern References Search
For fewer results, connect terms or add another term with AND Partial overlap of 2 unfilled gray circles is shaded purple and labeled 'AND'.

chelation AND amine ligands

chelation AND amine ligands AND kinetic
For more results, connect related terms with OR Two solid purple circles overlap. Darker purple overlap labeled 'OR'. (chelating OR chelation)
Sometimes you will need to use both approaches: narrowing a search topic, but adding terms to fully describe that specific topic   (chelating OR chelation) AND amine ligands AND kinetic

Narrow a Search With Additional Words

You can add a second term to your search using

  • AND, to retrieve the most references
  • the Search Within Results box, for a smaller number of references
  • the Abstract/Keywords option on the home screen, for the fewest possible results

Use SciFinderⁿ [SciFinder-n] Concepts to Focus Your Search

SciFinder adds "Concepts" from a standardized vocabulary to describe article content. The Concept filter displays them by frequency. Click View All to see more Concepts.

Tip: Sometimes Concepts are added days or weeks later by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) employees. Consequently, using the Concept filter may eliminate some relevant search results.

Expand the Concept Filter
Concept filter lists 5 descriptors and number of search results in parentheses, in descending order of frequency. 3-column Top Count Concepts display. Descriptors, followed by number of search results in parentheses, listed in descending order of frequency. 'Kinetics' in second column, circled in red.

Select Concepts from an alphanumeric list, or search the full list to find all Concepts containing a particular word.

Search Inside the Concept Filter
3-column Alphanumeric display of Concepts, each followed by number of search results in parentheses. Letter 'K' selected on top index row. Searcher scrolled to bottom of display. Group of 6 descriptors in second column circled in red: Kinetic analysis, Kinetic and thermodynamic compensation effects, Kinetic energy, Kinetic resolution, Kinetics, Kinetic theory. 'Kinetics' has the most results, 181. 3-column Search display of Concepts, each followed by number of search results in parentheses. Top Concept Name search bar contains word 'kinetic'. Select All on Page checkbox underneath search bar. Numeric index at bottom shows 2 pages of results. Alphabetically arranged columns visible on first page cover 'Abstraction reaction kinetics' through 'Aminoalkylation kinetics', 'Deaquation kinetics' through 'Dehydrobromination kinetics' and 'Hydrogenation kinetics' through 'Insertion reaction kinetics'.