Home - Chemistry & Biochemistry - Research Guides at Occidental College

Online Reference Sources

The Hutchinson pocket dictionary of chemistry
Includes verbal and visual definitions for a wide number of chemical terms and concepts.
A Comprehensive Dictionary of Inorganic Chemistry
Provides verbal and visual definitions of over 2000 words and phrases relevant to the study of inorganic chemistry.
Oxford dictionary of biochemistry and molecular biology
The Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology provides a comprehensive survey of modern biochemistry and molecular biology. Includes definitions of terms from the fields of Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Cell Biology, Chemistry, Genetics, Immunology, Mathematics, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Systems Biology, and Toxicology.
Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
Provides a broad approach to chemistry, its laws, processes, applications and subdisciplines, and its many branches, including inorganic, industrial, atmospheric and computational chemistry as well as biotechnology, including biographies of scientists past and present.
Oxford Collection of Medical Reference Works
Includes 11 different titles in the field of medicine such as:The Oxford Companion to the Body, A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition, Concise Medical Dictionary, An A-Z of Medicinal Drugs, The Oxford Companion to Medicine, The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine.

Call Number: QD5 .D67 1983

Call Number: QD65 .L36 2005

Call Number: QD5 .V37 1984

Call Number: QD148 .E53 2005

Call Number: QD65 .H3 91st ed. 2010-2011

Call Number: QD415 .B713 1983

Call Number: RS51 .M4 2006

BOOKS (Use this tab to explore):

Using the OASys Catalog to search Oxy's Collection.

Trying other library catalogs to find materials outside of Oxy.

Learning how to locate books on the shelves (called "stacks").

Using LC and MeSH subject headings to execute more precise searches.

Finding new chemistry and biochemistry publications owned by Oxy and partner libraries.

ARTICLES (Use this tab to explore):

Using databases to find scholarly article citations and full text.

Identifying major chemistry & biochemistry publications.

Locating online and print journals accessible through Oxy.

Beginning your Chemistry/Biochemistry Research

Follow your interest AND pay particular attention to the assignment you have been given. Make sure you understand what your Professor is asking for before diving into your research. Be sure to note any date or material type restrictions. (Example: Using peer reviewed journals, locate articles from the past three years that explore . . . )
Note some topics that interest you and then brainstorm ways these concepts could be worded. Is there a common term for a concept as well as a medical/scientific term? (The MeSH thesaurus can help you find medical terminology.)
Using the tools for initial exploration listed below, try to locate a few resources that address your topic. Once you have looked at a source, ask yourself the following:

Does this resource provide you with any new terms or concepts that should be incorporated into your research?
How does this resource address your subject and when was this published? Is there anything newer on the same issue?
What do you want to know more about after having read this? For example, does this resource problematize issues that seemed settled before? Or does it raise new areas and avenues of exploration entirely?
How does this resource fit with what you know about this topic? How does it add to the pool of material you have already examined?

Look for ways you can situate your research within the broader range of scholarship that exists on your topic. Can you expand upon an earlier discussion? Or provide a counterpoint?
Realize that the scope and focus of your topic will change the more information you locate, read, and analyze. Your preliminary research should help you figure out which aspects of your broader topic you are truly interested in focusing on; in later research, you can hone in on this narrow topic.

Initial Exploration

Encyclopedias that focus on chemistry & biochemistry including the online/print reference sets listed on this page.
Annual Reviews: Allow you to see the types of research that have been done on a subject within a given time frame. Oxy has access to numerous Annual Review titles that are relevant to chemistry and biochemistry including the Annual Review of Biochemistry, the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, and many others. From the Annual Review list you are taken to, look for the Annual Review title that is the most applicable to your topic.
Google (Scholar, Web, Images, Books)
OxyWorldCat

Chemistry & Biochemistry Research and Writing Resources

The chemist's English by Robert Schoenfeld. PE1475 .S29 1985