Introduction to SciFinder Scholar 2007
SciFinder Scholar provides integrated access to the following chemistry resources:
- Chemical Abstracts plus (CAplus) * Literature (journals, patents, proceedings, etc.) from 1907 to the present (more info?)
- Medline * Biomedical literature from 1950 to the present (more info?)
- CAS Registry * Structure database for finding chemical substances from 1957-present (more info?)
- CASREACT * Reaction information on single and multi-step reactions (more info?)
- CHEMCATS * Chemical source information (more info?)
- CHEMLIST * Regulatory information from 1979-present (more info?)
SciFinder Scholar is available to current OSU faculty, students and staff. It is accessible on campus, and off-campus via the OSU modem pool and the OSU Virtual Private Network. SciFinder is not available on Saturday between the hours of 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm PST. On the 1st Saturday of each month, it is only available until 2:00pm PST.
Installing SciFinder Scholar
SciFinder Scholar requires installation of searching software. Installation instructions and a link to download the software are available at: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/research/databases/scifind.htm.
Off-campus access
Instructions for off-campus access via the OSU Virtual Private Network (VPN) are available at http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/offcampus/scifind.htm.
Limit on number of simultaneous users
Access to SciFinder Scholar is restricted to 4 simultaneous users. If you are unable to connect, please try again later. Also, please remember to exit from SciFinder when you have finished so it is available to others.
Searching
From the SciFinder Scholar "new task" menu, you can search the database in the following ways:
Explore By  |
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| Research Topic | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Chemical Structure | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Substructure | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Structure Similarity | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Reaction | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Molecular Formula | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Author Name | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Company Name | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Locate By |
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| Substance Identifier | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Citation/Patent Info | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
| Browse By |
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| Journal Table of Contents | Description | || | "How to" from CAS | |
Research Topic ("How to" from CAS)
Enter a phrase or sentence in English to search by topic. You will see relevancy ranked results based on various combinations of word inclusion and proximity. Check the boxes that most closely represent your research topic, then click on the Get References button.
You may limit your search by publication year, document type, language, author and/or company name by clicking on the Additional Options button.
Return to list of search options
Chemical Substance/Reaction 
Using the tool provided in SciFinder Scholar, you may search for chemical substances and reactions by drawing their structures. You may also search for a substance using the molecular formula or substance identifier(s).
Search by drawing
- chemical structures (how?)
- substructures (how?)
- structure similarity (how?)
- reaction diagrams (how?)
Search using
- molecular formula (how?)
- substance identifier(s), including chemical names and CAS Registry numbers (how?)
Your results will include basic identifying information for all possible matches to your search request. Click on the microscope icon 
to see complete identification information. Additional icons link to:
- References
- Commercial Sources information
- Regulated Chemicals listing data
- Reaction information
Search results often include more that one substance. Click in the boxes for all the compounds of interest and click on the Get References button at the bottom of the screen to pull up bibliographic references related to all the selected compounds. If desired, you may limit the references to those related to particular areas of study.
Return to list of search options
Locate Literature ("How to" from CAS)
You can locate references from journals and patents by using specific citation information or document identifiers (such as patent number or Chemical Abstract number). To search on topic, use the research topic feature, described above.
Return to list of search options
Author Name ("How to" from CAS) 
Searches through all listed authors. You can search by author's name with the option to look for alternative spellings of the last name.
Return to list of search options
Company/Organization Name ("How to" from CAS) 
This search is based on the affiliation of the senior author. You may search broadly, e.g. Oregon State University or more narrowly, e.g. Department of Chemistry Oregon State University. The search is treated as a keyword search in the author affiliation field.
Journal Tables of Contents ("How to" from CAS)
Journals that are part of the CAS database are included (Medline journals are not). Journal titles are listed alphabetically. Scroll through the list and then select the journal of interest. After clicking on the radio button in front of the journal title, click on the "View" button. The table of contents for the most recent issue will be shown. You may browse through issues by using the "Previous Issue," "Next Issue," and "Current Issue" buttons.
Return to list of search options
Accessing Full Text
After searching, full text options are displayed by clicking the full text icon 
just below the microscope icon . Clicking this icon will take you to the OSU Libraries website (for bibliographic references) where you will be prompted to check if OSU Libraries owns the material or to order via ILL if not owned.
From patent search results, the full text icon will take you to the corresponding patent office (USPTO and EPO).
Return to list of search options
Marking & Exporting Records
As you go through your results, you may mark those records of interest. To view only those records you have marked, go to Tools and click on Keep References. Be sure to save these records (how?) before starting a new search (task). All results from a previous "task" are lost when you begin a new one.
If you would like to export SciFinder data into another program (such as EndNote, ProCite, or Reference Manager), details on setting this up can be found at http://www.cas.org/support/scifi/techsupport/2006/bibapps2006.html.
Return to list of search options
