ANDREI VEDERNIKOV ROOM 2353 Reading Scientific Literature

Why to Read? To prepare to a talk To write a candidacy paper, a MS thesis, research paper or report For your own research project For your own knowledge/future research directions etc. Books, reviews (secondary sources) Journal articles (primary sources)

Basic Steps Search for a suitable papers/reviews/ books Browse results of your search, select stuff to read and/or to store in your personal reference database Read/analyze selected papers Make necessary notes Add references and notes to your personal reference database

Where to Look for Information? Depending on the exact purpose of your search: - In on-line databases: ACS SciFinder, ISI Web of Science, Beilstein or Gmelin databases through Crossfire Commander or Discovery Gate), ISI Current Contents, Google Scholar etc. - In our Chemistry Library (currently subscribed to about 200 chemistry-biochemistry related electronic and printed periodicals)

Browse Search Results Mark publications of your interest to include into your personal reference database and a list for future reading Save and import search results into your personal reference management database

Reading and Understanding Scientific Literature Books provide overview of accomplishments in the field Reviews provide a historical perspective, critical analysis of recent publications, point out where additional research is needed Articles are a primary source of information. When working with articles you should analyze: Title, names of authors, where the work was performed. That may attract your attention to the paper. If it is so, read the Abstract if it is a full paper or introduction if it is a communication to decide whether or not your should read the whole paper.

Understanding Motivations of the Authors Read the Introduction to see: why the study was conducted, what hypotheses were tested, are the research goals related to your research interests. If you are still interested, read Results and Discussion or the main body if it is a communication.

Understanding the Content Assess the following: How well the data supports the conclusions. What the primary contribution of that work is. How the conclusions relate to your research interests. How well the authors’ conclusions agree/disagree with yours. Plan on additional reading – follow references in paper. Summarize the research objectives and primary contributions in your own words for your future reference. Avoid plagiarism. Add the reference to your reference database.

Functions of Reference Management Software Serves as a database Allows to search the whole content of the database Allows to generate reference lists in different formats required by different journals, grant agencies etc. Some allow to include links to your local pdf-files and/or web-site with an article Allows for integration with word processors so that a reference list can be produced automatically as a paper is written (Cite-While-You-Write)

Reference Management Software Institute for Scientific Information (Thomson corporation) is one of the leading and the oldest reference software developers EndNote ( …) program; ~ $100 for students ProCite ( …) program; ~ $100 for students Reference Manager ( …) program; ~ $100 for students EndNote Web – on-line system; free for us

Establishing an Account with ISI Web of Science Go to the WM Chemistry Library page. Follow the link to Databases Choose Web of Science Sign in (the button is in the upper right hand corner) First time: - choose Register - Input your information and submit (you may choose automatic sign for future in if you use your own computer for that most of the time) - agree to terms and conditions

Searching ISI Web of Science Select a database – Web of Science Create a search profile Select databases to search and the time period to cover Search, browse results, select those that are to be included into your EndNote library, then choose Save to EndNote Web Papers that are already included in your database are labeled with “EN/Web”

My EndNote Web Main Options My References: view/search/add references to groups/create new groups/delete references Collect: allows to connect to UM libraries catalog and search it/import references saved in SciFinder, ACS journals web-sites, Google Scholar, other databases/add references manually Organize: create/rename/share/delete groups of references Format: save formatted references in a file/ the file/export to other databases/install Cite-While- You-Write module