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Finding Background & Property Information on Polymers
Encyclopedias and handbooks are a good way to get a broad overview and context for a subject and helpful for deciphering research articles. References at the ends of articles lead you to further relevant information.
Other helpful sources of background information are review articles and trade magazines. You can find those using databases like SciFinder and Compendex and limiting by Document Type or Treatment Type.
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Encyclopedia of polymer science and technologyOver 500 articles addressing all areas of polymer science. Updated quarterly with new and substantially revised articles, the Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology provides information about polymers, plastics, fibers, biomaterials, elastomers, and polymerization processes. Article coverage for 2007 and prior only.
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Polymer HandbookClassic source of property data for "synthetic polymers, poly(saccharides) and derivatives, and oligomers." Primary focus is on "fundamental constants and parameters that refer to the polymer molecule, that describe the solid state of polymer molecules, or that describe polymer solutions" and not spectroscopic, rheological, and mechanical data.
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Tutorial: How to Find Chemical and Physical Property InformationFinding chemical and physical property data is not always easy because there is no one place where all types of data for all substances is located, and it is not always clear where to look or whether you have looked in the right places. This tutorial will show you how and where to search.
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Polymers: a Property DatabaseA user-friendly interface gives access to names, physical property data, supplier information, structures, applications, & manufacturing processes.
Finding Research Articles on Polymers
Articles are the primary way scientists communicate research results. Use an article index or database to find articles on your topic; the citation includes article information like article title, author, journal name, issue, year, and the abstract.
When you are starting to delve into a new subject, review articles are your best friends. Most article databases will allow you to limit your search just to this type of publication or document. The long reference lists in review articles are also a good way to identify key articles.
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Tutorial: Using citations to find journal articles and booksLearn how to use citations in journal articles to identify other relevant articles and books and use Libraries Search to find them.
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SciFinderSciFinder is the best database for topics related to chemistry and adjacent fields. It includes journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and patents. Find substance and reaction information as well as suppliers and chemical regulatory data.
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Web of ScienceA comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of journal article citations. Subjects generally covered are within science and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences.
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CompendexCovers scholarly and technical periodicals, conference proceedings, and report literature in all engineering disciplines including applied physics, electronics, materials science, and related fields in science and management. Indexes nearly 3000 sources worldwide.
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Tutorial: How to read and comprehend scientific research articlesLearn tips on how to read a scientific article, how to find the main points of the article, and how to take effective notes.
Style Guides
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The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific InformationDescribes the writing and citation style recommended by the American Chemical Society. See Chapter 14 for guidelines on citing different types of references.
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zoterobibZoterobib formats bibliographies in any style automatically. Just enter a doi or title.
Off-Campus Access to Library Journals & Databases
In addition to going through links on the library website, we have 2 other ways to access resources from off-campus.
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Proxy BookmarkletAdd this button to your browser toolbar and click on it to reload a page and authenticate as a U of M user.
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Virtual Private Network (VPN)Download and log in to VPN before accessing resources
