Home   •   Products and Services  •  CD Products  •  CA on CD  •  Quick Start  •  Guidelines for Finding References Citing Chemical Substances

Guidelines for Finding References Citing Chemical Substances

Introduction

There are several CA on CD options for locating references citing a chemical substance. Guidelines are presented to help you decide which of these options to use.

Background

To locate references citing a substance, you must know

• the substance's CAS Registry Number (CAS RN), or
• a name for the substance

A substance may have many different names in the literature. One of these names is considered by CA to be the preferred name. Both the CAS RN and the preferred name are direct links to every reference on a CA on CD database which cite the substance, regardless of the substance name used in the reference.

Features for Finding Preferred Substance Names

Index Browse lists preferred substance names in alphanumeric order. Names are located by scrolling the COMPOUND index list.

The Substance Hierarchy organizes preferred substance names by structural features. The hierarchical organization leads a user from the name for the parent substance to more specific names that take substitution, chemical modifications, and stereochemistry into account.

The Formula Hierarchy organizes preferred substance names by structural features, similar to the Substance Hierarchy. However, the initial access point to preferred names is through a substance's molecular formula

Decision Table

The following decision table will help you decide how to locate references citing a substance of interest. If you know a CAS RN, searching it is the quickest way to relevant references. If you are using a substance name, then the best method to use depends on the substance and what you know about it.

If you know	Then,
The CAS RN	Search the CAS RN in Word Search, specifying the CAS RN search field
The preferred substance name	1. Locate the preferred substance name using the COMPOUND index of Index Browse. 2. Search the substance name Directly from Index Browse, or Copy it to Word Search, specifying the COMPOUND search field
The structure of the substance and the chemical nomenclature used to describe structural attributes	1. Locate the preferred substance name using the Substance Hierarchy 2. Search the substance name directly from the Substance Hierarchy
The molecular formula and structure of the substance, and the chemical nomenclature used to describe the structural attributes	1. Locate the preferred substance name using the Formula Hierarchy 2. Search the substance name directly from the Formula Hierarchy
A substance name, but cannot locate it in Index Browse or the Substance or Formula Hierarchy	1. Search the substance name in Word Search, specifying the WORD search field 2. Identify the substance's CAS RN in a display from the search results Tip: Find a CAS RN index entry in a CA record display that appears to refer to the substance of interest. Click on the CAS RN to display the preferred substance name. 3. Search the CAS RN in Word Search, specifying the CAS RN search field.