CHEM 319. Introduction to Chemical Literature
Section 6T, Fall 2007
Instructor: Ms. Cindy Lamberty / Office: Bea 207Phone: 985.448.4167 / e-mail:
Office Hours: / 9:30-12:30 MW, 9:00-12:00 T/TH (some days I will be recruiting off-campus)
COURSE DESCRIPTION. CHEM 319. Introduction to Chemical Literature. 1-1-0. Prerequisites: CHEM 222, 300. Important sources of chemical information, traditional and electronic searching techniques, software tools to assist in writing about Chemistry, and the American Chemical Society style guide. (40.0599)
PREREQUISITES. CHEM 222, 300. CHEM and CHDM majors are strongly encouraged to take this required course as soon as they have completed CHEM 222 and 300.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK. Dodd, The American Chemical Society Style Guide, 3ed (ACS Press).
REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTS. Sections of the American Chemical Society's Clearinghouse for Chemical Information Instructional Materials at the University of Indiana, as listed below under “Course Content.” http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/cciim50.html
Handouts (assignments, PowerPoint notes, etc.) will be posted on the Blackboard course site at http://blackboard.nicholls.edu.
COURSE GOAL. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the most important sources of chemical information and help them develop skills required to efficiently find and utilize information. The skills developed in this course should allow students to adapt to the rapidly evolving chemical literature.
STUDENT OUTCOME OBJECTIVES. At the end of this course, students will be
· able to use the chemical literature available in the Nicholls library and other libraries
· able to use software tools designed to assist in writing about chemistry
· able to recognize the primary literature by format
· able to construct appropriate bibliographic citations (references) in the correct format
· adept at using Chemical Abstracts, print and electronic (STN) versions, and all its component services, as well as other important sources to solve specific chemical information problems, such as
o finding patent information, journal articles, monographs, reviews by author, by subject, or by chemical substance
o finding physical and chemical properties of a compound
o finding methods for chemical analysis
o finding methods to assist in designing and performing chemical syntheses
· able to compose a review of literature pertaining to a possible subject of a laboratory investigation
COURSE CONTENT
Session 1: Communication in Chemistry
· Science Writing Aids.
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Science_Writing_Aids
· The Publication Process. http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/The_Publication_Process:_Primary%2C_Secondary%2C_and_Tertiary_Sources
Session 2. How and Where to Start
· Guide to Chemical Information Sources and Databases.
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Guides_to_Chemical_Information_Sources_and_Databases
· General Information on Computer Searching. http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/General_Information_on_Computer_Searching
· Current Awareness, Reviews and Document Delivery,
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Current_Awareness%2C_Reviews%2C_and_Document_Delivery
· Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Other books, http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Background_Reading:_Dictionaries%2C_Encyclopedias%2C_and_Other_Books
Session 3. General Search
· Searching by Author, Organization Name, or known Citations.
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Searching_by_Author_or_Organization_Name_and_by_Known_Citations
· Searching by Subject, http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Searching_by_Subject
· Searching by Chemical Name and Formula, http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Chemical_Name_and_Formula_Searching
· Structure Searching,
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Structure_Searching
Sessions 4 and 5. Specialized Searches
· Patents,
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Chemical_Patent_Searching
· Analytical Methods, http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Analytical_Chemistry
· Synthetic Methods,
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Searching_for_Synthesis
· Chemical Safety and Toxicology, http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Chemical_Safety
· Physical and Chemical Properties,
· http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/cicc/cis/index.php/Physical_Property_Information
· Chemical History, Biographies, Directories, Industry, http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/C471/471chbdi.html
Session 6. Selection of research topic in consultation with faculty mentor.
Session 7-14. Weekly progress meetings with faculty mentor. Goals will be set for each progress meeting.
· Students will be mentored on more specialized literature in the faculty mentor’s subdiscipline.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Literature search assignments. There will be four (4) assignments which involve locating specific information in library references, or other tasks which require use of chemical literature. These assignments will be distributed weekly beginning with the third class period.
Progress Reports. A draft of the research paper in progress must be presented to the faculty mentor for each progress meeting. A cover letter summarizing how goals set in prior meeting have been met must accompany each report.
Research paper. This paper should be similar to what would normally be found in the “Introduction,” “Scope and Significance,” "Review of Literature," and “References” sections of a thesis. The topic will be selected by the student in consultation with a Chemistry faculty mentor and approved by the mentor by mid-semester. Students are encouraged to select a topic that could be the subject of an actual laboratory or computational research project for CHEM 451 (Research Problems). The paper must demonstrate extensive use of the chemical literature.
METHODS OF EVALUATION
Literature search assignments, 40%. Each of the four assignments is worth 10 points. Points will be awarded for successful completion of assigned tasks. Late assignments will be penalized one point for every day past the deadline.
Progress Reports. 20%. The student starts with 20 points. The faculty mentor shall subtract points if student does not meet goals set in prior meeting.
Research Paper, 40%. The paper must be submitted three weeks before the end of the semester, will be graded by the faculty mentor for quality of content (20 points) and by the entire Chemistry faculty for style (20 points). Late submissions will be given a score of zero. Graded papers will be returned to the student within one week after submission. The student may submit a revised paper to obtain a better grade (maximum: ten point improvement) on or before the last day of class. The revised paper must be accompanied by a cover letter describing how faculty comments on content and style have been addressed.
MAKE UP. Make up work will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The student must provide a valid, verifiable excuse.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY. Any student found cheating on any report will be subject to the penalties as stated in the Student Code of Conduct handbook; including but not limited to a score of zero on an assignment, expulsion from the class or expulsion from the University. Electronic copies of all requirements must be submitted through the Blackboard digital dropbox so that they can be checked against the turnitin.com database for plagiarism.
TURNITIN POLICY. By taking this course, students agree that all assignments are subject to submission to Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism prevention and detection service. All work submitted to Turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Turnitin's privacy policy and a description of the service are available at http://www.turnitin.com. Specifically, this service compares your paper with Internet webpages, articles in databases, and all papers previously submitted from this university or any other. Turnitin then either confirms the originality of your work or gives the source of plagiarism. In cases of detected plagiarism, the paper and supporting evidence will be handled in compliance with the Student Code of Conduct (http://www.nicholls.edu/life/policy/code_of_conduct.pdf).
ATTENDANCE. Attendance is required. Failure to show up for a progress meeting will result in an automatic reduction of Progress Report score by 5 points.
SEMESTER WITHDRAWAL. The last day to withdraw from the course with an automatic grade of W is Friday 26 October 2007.
AMERICAN’S WITH DISABILITIES. If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services for coordination of your academic accommodations. The Office of Disability Services is located in Peltier Hall, Room 100-A. The phone number is (985) 448-4430 (TDD 449-7002).
ACADEMIC GRIEVANCES. The proper procedure for filing grade appeals or grievances related to academic matters is listed in Section 5 of the Code of Student Conduct and at he following link: http://www.nicholls.edu/documents/student_life/code_of_conduct.pdf .
Continued Learning following an Extreme Emergency:
In order to make continued learning possible following an extreme emergency, students are responsible for:
§ reading regular emergency notifications on the NSU website;
§ knowing their Blackboard (or designated system) student login and password;
§ knowing how to use and access Blackboard (or university designated electronic delivery system);
§ being familiar with emergency guidelines;
§ evacuating textbooks and other course materials;
§ contacting faculty regarding their intentions for completing the course.
Faculty are responsible for:
§ their development in the use of the Blackboard (or designated) software;
§ having a plan for continuing their courses using only Blackboard and email;
§ continuing their course in whatever way suits the completion of the course best, and being creative in the continuation of these courses;
§ making adjustments or compensations to a student's progress in special programs with labs, clinical sequences or the like only in the immediate semester following the emergency.
MINUTES OF PROGRESS MEETING
NAME OF STUDENT: ______DATE: ______
NAME OF FACULTY MENTOR: ______
Did student meet all goals for this meeting? Yes, No, N/A (first meeting)
Penalty: ______points. Explanation:
Describe goals for next progress meeting:
FORMAT FOR COVER LETTER (Progress Report)
DATE: October 21, 2007
TO: Dr. MentorFirstName MentorLastName
Faculty mentor
CC: Dr. InstructorFirstName InstructorLastName
Chem 319 Instructor
FROM: StudentFirstName StudentLastName
SUBJECT: Progress Report for the period October 13-20, 2007
Attached is the most recent draft of my research paper on ….
Per our meeting on October 13, 2005, the following goals were set.
· Goal 1. Describe the goal. Describe how you have met this goal. If appropriate, cite specific sections of the draft to support your claim.
· Goal 2. Describe the goal. Describe how you have met this goal. If appropriate, cite specific sections of the draft to support your claim.
· Etc.